Yazoo City Police cracking down on illegal guns, drugs

YAZOO, Miss. (WLBT) - A massive crackdown on illegal drugs, ammunition, and guns is ramping up in Yazoo City.

The Yazoo City Police Department is partnering with local, state, and federal agencies to combat the emergence of this crisis with plans to do everything from special sweeps to extra patrols.

“Those are 9 millimeters, high-capacity rounds.”

Chief Kenneth Hampton showed WLBT all that was seized during a recent traffic stop and chase in his city.

“We have meth, cocaine, marijuana, and pills. The guns were also in the back of the car and both guns were locked and loaded,” he said.

Last month, the police department seized four times as many guns and drugs during another bust. Hampton says the types of drugs and illegal weapons he is seeing on the streets are disturbing and concerning.

“We find a lot of AR-15 Rifles, we’re not seeing a lot of AK-47 Pistols, but we know they’re out there,” Chief Hampton stated. “I don’t know. To be honest with you, I don’t know. I am assuming they’re going to the gun shows and they are having people of age to purchase these weapons. They’re buying them from each other off the streets, and there are some rumors that they’re being brought in by individuals from out-of-town and out-of-state.”

He also points out that the people in possession of the illegal guns and drugs are getting younger and younger.

“The biggest danger is they are not responsible and not educated on the firearm,” Hampton said. “They don’t understand that taking aim at a vehicle nine times out of ten, you’re not going to hit the vehicle, or it’s going to skip and detour or ricochet someplace else, possibly in somebody’s house. We’ve had a couple houses that got shot up for whatever reason and our investigators are working on that.”

Hampton and Yazoo Police are now partnering with the Yazoo County Sheriff’s Office as well as state and federal agencies to help make the city safer.

“We have been working in the past with the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, not this bust, but the previous one. They help us out there. You have to reach out and make the connection.

The chief also plans to put more boots on the ground to beef up patrols and conduct more sweeps, and he has a message for the criminals causing problems in Yazoo City.

“The only thing I can tell people and the ones out here selling this stuff is your day is coming. It is not a matter of if, but it is just when.

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