A candidate seeking the Tupelo mayor’s office turned himself in to law enforcement following his alleged role in the assault of a minor.
Rob Chambers, a Republican who recently qualified for a shot at unseating incumbent Republican Todd Jordan, was booked into the Lee County Detention Center on Tuesday. Three days before his arrest, Chambers posted a video on social media outlining multiple incidents involving mask-donning “adult-sized” males harassing his family at their Belden home.
“On two separate occasions, a group of adult-sized males wearing ninja-type fatigues and face masks came to my family’s house beating on my door terrorizing my wife and daughter,” Chambers wrote on Facebook. “Our family has made a report with the Tupelo Police, and we will not have further comments. The Tupelo Police Department is now investigating.”
Tupelo Police Department and Lee County Sheriff’s Department held a joint press conference Tuesday afternoon to discuss the matter. The information provided by officials appear to contradict Chambers’ account.
After an initial investigation into the alleged assault, the Tupelo Police Department referred the case to the Lee County Sheriff’s Department to avoid conflict of interest as the suspected assailant, later identified as Chambers, is a candidate in the city of Tupelo.
According to Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson, juveniles were “ding-dong-ditching” on the night of Saturday, Feb. 1. The homeowner of the residence in question, Chambers, had apparently experienced a similar incident of juveniles ringing the house’s doorbell and fleeing a few hours earlier. He was reportedly “dressed in dark clothing and waiting in a darkened area” when the juveniles returned around 10 p.m. the same night.
One of the two 13-year-0ld pranksters rang the doorbell again, and when the pair turned to run toward a waiting side-by-side vehicle, Chambers “emerged from the dark” and kicked the child in the groin. The assault was filmed by a 14-year-old juvenile waiting in the escape vehicle, corroborating their previous accounts to law enforcement.
The parents of the assaulted juvenile reported the incident to law enforcement the following day, and an arrest warrant was issued for simple assault against Chambers. Chambers later turned himself in at the Lee County Adult Detention Center, was processed, and has since been released on bond.
In the mayoral candidate’s social media video, he also alluded to the possibility of the incident being politically motivated. But that description of the incident was refuted by Lee County officials during the press conference.
“Despite statements on social media, there is no evidence that this incident was the result of political motivation or intimidation,” Sheriff Johnson said.
