On Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, May 20 and 21, 2008, Detectives Armstrong and Murphy went to The Rebel Yell to interview the employees and patrons regarding anything they may have witnessed involving Detective Charles Tatum, particularly on the evening of Wednesday, April 2, 2008. The witnesses were also asked for any observations regarding Hank Peterson and/or Jolene Wright. Interviews were conducted confidentially, out of earshot and eyeshot of proprietor, Hank Peterson.

The following interview descriptions, provided in summary and not verbatim, are some of the most typical or relevant to the investigation and are representative of all interviews conducted.

• Jenny Willis (waitress), 616 Telegraph Road 

The witness said she was acquainted with Charles Tatum but didn't know him well. The witness said she saw Tatum several times at The Rebel Yell talking with Hank Peterson, and sometimes they seemed  to be in a heated discussion. The witness said she never saw Charles Tatum with a woman.  She said Charles Tatum always appeared to be checking out the bar and everyone who walked in or out. The witness said she never saw Charles Tatum on April 2, 2008. She said Hank Peterson always seemed on edge when Tatum was there.

The witness said that even though Mack Mason claimed that Hank was playing Jolene for a fool and didn't care one whit about her, she believes that Hank truly loves Jolene and has full intentions on marrying her.  The witness believes that Hank sends Jolene flowers, candy, and poems he's written himself, though she could provide no independent proof.

• Mack Mason (bartender), 487 Lincoln Road

The witness said he was not acquainted with Charles Tatum, but knew who he was.  The witness said that he thought Charles Tatum felt like he was too good to visit the bar and did so just to check up on the customers, so he could arrest them later if he had a chance. The witness said that Charles Tatum got what he deserved and good riddance to another stinking cop. The witness said that if Tatum was in the Rebel Yell on the night of April 2, 2008, he didn't see him.  The witness said that  Jolene Wright was a total airhead who thought Hank was going to marry her, but that Hank was just using her, like he did all the waitresses.

• Jimmy Houghlin (patron),  924 Williams Street

The witness said he was acquainted with Charles Tatum and wasn't surprised to see him at The Rebel Yell sometimes. He said he wasn't aware of Tatum being at the bar on April 2, 2008 . The witness said he never had a conversation with Charles Tatum at  the Rebel Yell. The witness said that the few times he was at the bar when Charles Tatum was there, Tatum was either sitting at a table with Hank Peterson or walking around the bar observing the goings-on. The witness said he never approached Charles Tatum because Tatum always appeared to be casing the place.

• JP Wallace (patron), 386 Forest Ave. Apt #10

The witness said he knew who Charles Tatum but would not call him a friend. The witness claimed that all the Oxford police were out to get him and when he saw Tatum at the bar, he suspected Tatum was watching him.  He repeated that all the cops were out to get him, and they were a bunch of dirty scumbags. The witness said Charles Tatum was watching The Rebel Yell back room all the time like he thought something was going on back there that he should know about. The witness claimed he didn't see Tatum on April 2, 2008. The witness said he never saw anything illegal going down at The Rebel Yell. When the witness was asked if he knew anything about any illegal drugs at the bar, he laughed derisively and said, "H*** no!" The witness said the world was better off with cops like Tatum dead and buried.  

When asked what he knew about the intimate relationship between Hank Peterson and Jolene Wright, he asked, "What relationship?" The witness said Hank only saw Jolene as an easy piece, but Jolene was too stupid to see that.  He said that all women were too stupid to recognize a snake in the grass and claimed that he fooled them all the time.

• Mabel Ballinger (patron), corner Wisconsin Street and Lincoln Street

The witness said she wasn't acquainted with Charles Tatum, but knew that Hank Peterson didn't have any use for him because Peterson would sometimes let everyone in the bar know how he felt about Tatum. The witness also said there were several patrons at the bar who didn't like Tatum, and they would join in with Hank in the bad mouthing.  The witness said one such loud mouth who went by the name of  JP. The witness said she didn't come into the bar often because it was a dirty, disgusting place, but her boyfriend would force her to go with him. She said she didn't know what kind of shenanigans went on in the back room and she didn't want to know, but it was a busy place.