Homeless man makes murder claim in order to be arrested and have a place to stay

Following his arrest, a homeless man who said that he had killed someone last week told officers that he had only made the claim so that he would be arrested and have a place to stay.

On Saturday, officers with the Lawrenceburg Police Department and Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department spoke with the thirty-six year old man just outside of the Lawrence County Detention Center. He told officers that he had “done a lot of drugs and killed someone behind Walgreens.”

Reports indicate that the man did not communicate in a clear, coherent manner and that he became extremely unruly. His actions were out of hand to the point that one officer was forced to draw his taser, but did not deploy it.

The man, identified as Sylvester Tyrone Jackson, continued to resist officers’ commands, but told them repeatedly that they needed “to take him to jail for what he had done.”

Reports show that Jackson was handcuffed and placed in the back of a police car. At that point, officers say that he laid down on the seat and kicked the car window with enough force to cause damage to the door, door frame, and latch.

Jail officials indicated that they would be unable to take him there “due to his behavior.” The staff nurse checked Jackson but was unable to get his vital signs. He was then transported by ambulance to Southern Tennessee Regional Health Systems Lawrenceburg. Once he had been evaluated by hospital personnel he was returned to the detention center.

Jackson admitted to officers that “he was just saying that he had killed someone because he wanted to go back to jail because he is homeless and needed a place to stay.”

Reports show that officers did check the area around Walgreens and spoke with residents, but that they found no sign that Jackson had committed a crime.