2 days ago
Tupelo man arrested again, held without bond for missing court
TUPELO – Skipping court-ordered rehabilitation and then missing a court date did not work out well for a Tupelo man accused of robbing a neighbor at gunpoint last summer.
Wendell Scott Lambert, 52, was arrested Thursday afternoon on a capias warrant that ordered him held without bond until trial.
Lambert was living with his brother at a South Green Street residence last May when he allegedly walked about 250 feet to a house on Chestnut Street and robbed a 68-year-old woman at gunpoint. He took $296 in cash, a purple pistol and two cell phones. He was indicted last fall for breaking and entering, armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a felon.
This spring, Lambert was granted a continuance in his court case on the condition that he enroll at Broken Lives Ministry, a Nettleton faith-based drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility for men with addiction problems. During the first 45 days of the six- to eight-month program, the men are not allowed to leave the property and must attend six hours of Bible classes per day, along with weekly anger management and financial classes.
According to court documents, Lambert entered the program on April 7 with an anticipated graduation in October. But just a week later, he was asked to leave the facility for 'not following rules.'
Where Lambert went after that is not known. When he failed to report to court in early May, circuit court revoked his $100,000 bond and issued a warrant for his arrest. It took six weeks before authorities located Lambert. When booked into the Lee County Jail Thursday at 2:40 p.m., he was listed as homeless.
Tupelo police say Lambert knocked on a neighbor's door on the morning of May 5, 2024, asking if she needed her yard mowed. After she said no, Lambert allegedly kicked in the front door and robbed the woman.
Surveillance cameras captured the suspect leaving wearing distinctive shoes running east on Chestnut and apparently throwing away the phones. The investigation quickly led police to Lambert. Police say a search of the house located the green-soled shoes but neither of the handguns.
Lambert has one prior felony conviction for burglarizing a Tishomingo County house in November 2013. He pleaded guilty to burglary in 2014 and was sentenced to seven years house arrest and five years of post-release supervision. Mississippi Department of Corrections released Lambert in May 2015, citing the 'expiration of sentence.'
