JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Mississippi state Sen. Chris Massey was arrested Thursday and charged with aggravated assault after police say he wielded a shovel and hurt another man during a fight in an upscale Olive Branch subdivision.
Massey, 44, is a homebuilder. Three other men, including his father, also were arrested after police were called to the Windstone subdivision just before 11 a.m. Thursday, Olive Branch Police Chief Don Gammage told The Associated Press.
Olive Branch is a Mississippi suburb of Memphis, Tennessee, and the subdivision is just south of the state line.
A judge set a $10,000 bond for Massey, and the senator was released hours after his arrest. A July 14 court appearance was set.
Calls to Massey’s cellphone were not immediately answered. The Republican from Nesbit has been a senator since 2012, and his district is entirely in DeSoto County. He is chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee.
The senator’s father, 66-year-old Jackie Massey of DeSoto County, is charged with aggravated assault.
Marcus Lane, 24, of Shelby County, Tennessee, is charged with aggravated assault.
Anthony Smith, 59, of Shelby County, Tennessee, is charged with simple assault.
It was not immediately clear whether any of the men is represented by an attorney who could comment on their behalf.