DEPUTY CLEARED OF DRUG CHARGE

VIDALIA, La. (AP) - A Concordia Parish sheriff's investigator has been
cleared of a drug possession charge.

Investigator Jimmy Darden was arrested July 4 during an outing on the Bogue
Chitto River in Mississippi.

He remains on leave pending the results of a drug test, Sheriff Randy
Maxwell said.

Sheriff's officials said he was with a group of people tubing, and all their
property became mixed together in a container hooked to Darden's tube.

Wildlife and Fisheries agents stopped Darden at a checkpoint and searched
the items, finding a film container holding a marijuana cigarette.

He was arrested and booked into the Pike County Jail on a charge of
possession of marijuana.

But another man came forward Monday and admitted the marijuana belonged to
him, investigators said. He pleaded guilty and paid a fine.

"Investigator Darden is a 20-year law enforcement veteran with an impeccable
record," Maxwell said.

"I have the utmost confidence in him, and I can easily understand how a
mistake like this can be made."

"One joint of marijuana may not be much to some people, but to a lawman,
it's a career," Maxwell said.