SUV shot up, gun defaced, Willow Springs man arrested

A former Louisiana man has been arrested in Willow Springs after allegedly shooting up his neighbor's vehicle with an illegal weapon. Hershell Meshall, 60, of Willow Springs, was arrested on May 3 by Willow Springs Police and is charged with felony discharge/shoot firearm at or from motor vehicle/shoot at person, motor vehicle, or building/habitable structure-persistent offender and felony armed criminal action. He is being held in the Howell County jail on a $100,000 cash or corporate surety bond.

 

Meshell is accused of firing a defaced Glock .40 caliber handgun three times into his neighbor's Ford Explorer around 6:56 pm on May 3, according to court documents. This occurred while his two adult neighbors were in their residence with their seven children in the home. Willow Springs Police Officer Paden Turnbull noted in the probable cause statement that there was a house across the street from where Meshell shot his handgun into the victim's vehicle and, had the vehicle not stopped the bullets, they would most likely have entered an uninvolved party's residence. Meshell was quoted by police as saying that “he did not want let out of jail because he knows himself”, indicating to police he knows he is a danger.

 

Meshell was on probation for a misdemeanor DWI conviction from September 2023 at the time of his arrest. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is being represented by a public defender. Meshell will be in court for a counsel status hearing at the Howell County Courthouse on Monday, May 20.