Jackson Jambalaya

The burglar who has been hitting businesses throughout Madison County is now in custody.  Darrah Williams is currently in custody at the Madison County Detention Center.  He is charged with burglary for the Ridgeland crimes.  He is expected to be charged with burglaries in Madison as well.  His mugshot is posted below. He is very well known to MDOC and law enforcement. 

WLBT reported on Williams' life of crime 11 years ago.  Sound familiar?

Vicksburg police believe they've nabbed the burglar who has struck more than thirty times in the last month. The man in custody is no stranger to the wrong side of the law. In fact, he was just released after spending a decade in prison for a string of burglaries he was convicted of in the nineties.

Vicksburg police have arrested 38-year-old Darrah Williams in connection with 37 business burglaries that occurred in the river city in January. Investigators say even after a decade at Parchman it was his criminal past - that he never let go - that caught up to him.

"Mr. Williams was sent up in ‘95 for 13 business burglaries of a similar MO. What we done is immediately drawn any of the burglary suspects that we knew of that had a similar MO and started looking at them. That’s how we first developed him as a suspect," said Captain Mark Culbertson of the Vicksburg Police Department.

Williams is suspected of kicking in doors and breaking windows at 37 Vicksburg businesses, taking money and electronics, anything he could get his hands on.

"He's headed back up the road, and hopefully they'll keep him for a long time," expressed Restaurant owner Charles Toney.

Charles Toney, whose restaurant was broken into Monday night, says the arrest will give his staff a better sense of safety.

"He's off the street. We feel a little more secure, and crime doesn't pay. Eventually you're gonna get caught," he said.

The same was true around the corner at Patients Choice Hospice, which was burglarized twice in one month.

Manager Kim Carr says, "This has been very frustrating for all of us in the business community. You know, we do hospice, which means our nursing staff comes in and out of the office all day through the night taking care of patients in the community, so it's been a source of anxiety for the knowing this kind of thing was happening in our building."

Darrah Williams will make his initial appearance in Vicksburg court Monday. Because he is a convicted felon, bond will be denied and he will immediately be sent back to prison. Vicksburg police say they're tracking another business burglar still on the loose. Investigators say they have a possible suspect and are following up on several leads at this time.

However, Williams did not learn anything as he was arrested in Vicksburg a few years ago yet managed to get out of prison on parole.  Click on images to enlarge.

• 8/14/86 sentenced to 24 months’ probation in Hinds County for nonresidential burglary

• 3/12/1987 sentenced to serve 2 years in Hinds County for nonresidential burglary (same charge from 1986)

• 8/7/89 sentenced for three burglary convictions, with seven years each for two convictions and six years on the third conviction, all from Warren County. He had a total of 20 years to serve.

• He was twice paroled and returned  before being sentenced again on  6/7/1996  for two nonresidential burglary convictions in Warren County, for which he received one 5-year term and one 4-year term.

• 8/21//07  sentenced for four nonresidential burglary convictions and one attempt in Warren County. He received seven years to serve for each conviction and five years on the attempt with some terms concurrent.

• 1/13/12 sentenced for two burglaries in Jackson County for which he received  four years to serve and five years’ probation on each.