Reardon Banished from Lafayette County for the Second Time

A man charged with stalking the Oxford mayor has been banished from Lafayette County for the second time.

Matthew Reardon pleaded guilty in the Lafayette County Circuit Court Friday to an aggravated charge. Per a plea agreement with prosecutors, Reardon’s sentence included being banished from Lafayette County for five years while remaining on unsupervised probation.

Prior to the plea agreement hearing, there was a competency hearing in which Reardon was found competent to stand trial.

Reardon was arrested on June 28 by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations and charged with aggravated stalking after walking into the City Hall with a video camera and walking toward Mayor Robyn Tannehill’s office.

In June 2017, a restraining order was issued ordering Reardon to stay at least 500 feet away from Tannehill and her husband, Rhea and his law firm.

While approached by Oxford police officers inside City Hall, Reardon argued that City Hall which is a public building, and he had the right to be there. Police informed him that since it was the mayor’s workplace, he could not enter without calling and making arrangements.

Reardon’s legal troubles began in May 2017 when he was first arrested for disorderly conduct after walking around the Square holding an assault rifle and waving a Confederate flag. When a Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department deputy asked Reardon to leave, he became argumentative. Despite pleading guilty to the charge, Reardon has since been attempting to have the case overturned in court.

A week later, Reardon was charged with stalking a couple who owned a local restaurant. He pleaded guilty to the stalking charge and was sentenced to five years of probation. He was ordered to leave Lafayette County for five years.

Tannehill testified during Reardon’s bond hearing in July that Reardon became angry with her when she and the Board of Aldermen voted to take down the old state flag with the Confederate symbol. She said he started posting threats on social media. His anger toward her husband, Rhea started with Rhea defending the mother of Reardon’s child in a domestic violence case against Reardon.

Staff report