Somer Thompson murder: 'person of interest' arrested for child porn possession

ORANGE PARK  Clay County (Florida) Sheriff Rick Beseler announced on 2/11/2010 that Jarred Mitchell Harrell, 24, has been arrested in Mississippi, charged with 29 counts of child pornography possession, and has been named a person of interest in the abduction and murder investigation of Somer Thompson, 7, of Orange Park, Florida.

Somer's siblings last saw her during the children's afternoon walk home from school, when she disappeared on Gano Avenue in Orange Park, a suburb of Jacksonville in north Florida, where reportedly, Harrell once resided. 

According to a copy of an Affidavit for Arrest Warrant dated 2/10/2010 and obtained on 2/11/2010 from Clay County Sheriff's Office media representative, Mary Justino, at a subsequent Wells Road address--also in Orange Park--Harrell's roommates asked him to move out of an apartment they shared, after which time, the roommates discovered child pornography on the suspect's computer that had been left behind.

According to the Affidavit for Arrest Warrant, "The computer was turned over to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office the following day on 8/10/09. The computer was processed by the Office of the Attorney General Cyber Crimes Unit after a search warrant was obtained."

Subsequently, a State of Florida, Clay County arrest warrant was obtained; the suspect was taken into custody in Mississippi by federal agents, and is being held in Lauderdale County Detention Facility, Meridian, on a million-dollar bond.

According to a Lauderdale County (Mississippi) Detention Center booking sheet obtained by True Crime Examiner from Clay County police, the 6 feet, 2-inches, 250-pound, Caucasian suspect's birthplace is Pensacola (Florida). The form shows Harrrell having a Jacksonville, FL address, and lists his employer as Queen City Recycling.

Somer Thompson vanished while walking home from school on October 19, 2009. Her body was recovered from a regional landfill less than 2 days after she went missing, following a targeted search of trash facilities serving Somer's neighborhood.

Jarred Harrell is being held in Lauderdale County Detention Facility, Meridian, Mississippi , on a million- dollar bond, following his 2/11/2010 arrest by federal agents.

According to a copy of the 2/10/2010 Affidavit for Arrest Warrant obtained by True Crime Examiner, a Clay County detective's investigation revealed that "the defendant, Jarred Harrell possessed child pornography on his computer" located in an Orange Park apartment.

According to the affidavit, the suspect " ... was asked to move out of his residence on 8-04-09 after his roommates found that he was responsible for the theft ... of an iPOD Touch ..."

The affidavit also states that  "Jarred moved out of the residence leaving his computer and a box of compact disks behind.  While Jarred was gone," the document provides, "the roommates got into Jarred's computer and searched for child pornography."

The affidavit notes that Harrell's roommates searched the computer " ... after they had been told that Jarred had been caught viewing child pornography ... "

Jacksonvile police were contacted after certain images were found.

Meanwhile, Clay County and FBI investigators continued a search of  the Gano Avenue house located on the street where Somer disappeared, and which is currently unoccupied.

Clay County investigators anticipate receiving the remaining half of the laboratory tests of possible forensic evidence submitted following the discovery of the child's body in the Chesser Island landfill, some 55 miles from where she disappeared.

The single-story brick dwelling on Gano Avenue remains cordoned, while the investigation proceeds, according to a jacksonville.com report by Jim Schoettler.

Somer Thompson's mother, Diena, was quoted in the report as saying, "I'm not speculating on anything. I don't want to get my hopes up and I don't want to get my hopes down.  ... I'm going to put my faith in God and hope the Clay County Sheriff's Office does what they're good at."

In the 2/11/2010 media release obtained by True Crime Examiner, Clay County spokesperson, Mary Justino states, "the Somer Thompson investigation remains extremely active." 

Justino advises, "We will not be scheduling any on-camera interviews of any kind until there are additional developments that warrant another press conference conducted by Sheriff Beseler."

Other than information disclosed in Harrell's Affidavit for Arrest Warrant, booking sheet and the suspect's identifying photo (above), additional details concerning Harrell's return to Orange Park or other information, are unavailable at this time.

Justino notes, "We will not respond to calls/emails for further explanations or clarifications on the material that has been released." 

Throughout the high-profile case, Clay County police have coordinated a brisk, multi-agency investigation, tapping resources of the FBI and Georgia Bureau of Investigation. 

While remaining tight-lipped about unfolding details of the investigation, Clay County police have cooperated with media, including meeting with John Walsh to prepare a segment on Somer's murder that aired on "America's Most Wanted" crime-fighting television series, providing police sketches of Somer's missing school belongings, and have continued to encourage the public to contact the agency's tips line and email (see below) if they have possible information concerning the case.

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