Former Yazoo City Police Chief Jay Winstead is now being held without bond as his capital murder case has been bound over to the Grand Jury.
Winstead sought to have his $1 million bond reduced during his preliminary hearing in Yazoo County Justice Court Thursday, but Judge Pam May revoked bond entirely. District Attorney Akillie Malone-Oliver cited evidence collected during the investigation and recommended that the case be bound over to the Grand Jury with bond denied.
The district attorney’s presentation included a statement from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.
Preliminary hearings determine if there is enough evidence to move a case over to the Grand Jury, which is then handled in Yazoo County Circuit Court. A Grand Jury considers the evidence and decides whether the case moves forward in court.
Winstead was charged with capital murder last month in connection to the death of Timothy Byrd, who was found dead at his home on Rose Hill Road in the Dover community on April 9. Winstead was charged two days later.
The Yazoo County Sheriff’s Department responded to a call around 6 p.m. on April 9 reporting that a man had suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Yazoo County Coroner Ricky Shivers arrived at the scene with Pafford medics. Pafford medics pronounced Byrd dead on the scene from a gunshot wound, Shivers added.
“Winstead was on the scene and was interviewed by investigators,” said Sheriff Jeremy McCoy, in a previous report. “After investigating, officers believed that the gunshot wound was not self-inflicted. They also believed that there were discrepancies in Winstead’s account of what happened.”
The matter first appeared before Judge Pam May in Yazoo County Justice Court on April 14. A $1 million bond with bond conditions was set with Winstead being held at a facility outside of Yazoo County for safety reasons since he was a former law enforcement officer.
Following last week’s preliminary hearing, the original bond has now been denied.
Yazoo County Circuit Clerk Robert Coleman said legal procedures, particularly in homicide cases, can be lengthy, adding that there is no way to accurately determine a timeline in court proceedings.
“In my experience, I have never seen a homicide case to happen at a fast pace,” he said. “To be honest, I would say we are looking at a minimum of two years or better.”
