POLICE CHIEF'S SON KILLED

Officer Shot During Drug Raid; Suspect Jailed

PRENTISS - A Monticello man is facing capital murder charges after a
shootout that erupted during a drug raid left Prentiss police officer
Ron Jones dead.

Cory Maye, 21, had an initial hearing Thursday in Jefferson Davis
County Justice Court. Maye was ordered held without bond.

Jones was shot late Wednesday night while he and a team that included
members of a South Mississippi drug task force were serving a search
warrant at the duplex Maye rented in Prentiss, Jefferson Davis County
Sheriff Henry McCullum said.

Jones, 29, was the son of Prentiss Police Chief Ronald Jones.

"He was a truly committed, dedicated law enforcement officer who took
pride in serving the people of Prentiss and the county," McCullum
said. "It is a great loss to the law enforcement family and our
county."

Maye, who authorities said has a Monticello home address, is being
held at the Forrest County jail in Hattiesburg.

District Attorney Buddy McDonald said Maye was moved from Jefferson
Davis County "because it was felt he would be more secure if they
took him to the jail in Forrest County because they have a larger
jail."

Two others were taken into custody with Maye, but later released.
McDonald said Maye was the only person involved in the shooting.

If convicted, Maye could be sentenced to death or life in prison.

On Thursday, Justice Court Judge Jerry Dice scheduled a preliminary
hearing for Jan. 24 and appointed attorney Robert Evans of Monticello
to defend Maye.

The Sheriff's Department did not say what the officers were searching
for or if Maye was a suspect in the probe.

Prentiss Mayor Charley Dumas said Jones was wearing a bulletproof
vest, but the bullet struck him just below the vest in the abdomen.

Jones entered the house through the back door and, after being shot,
staggered to the front door where he met other officers. Jefferson
Davis County Coroner Greg Blackwell said Jones died of his wound
while being rushed to a hospital in a police car.

The Prentiss Police Department has five officers. Jones was a member
of the force for about five years.

The district attorney's office and the Highway Patrol are
investigating the shooting.

Jones' death comes at the tail end of a year in which two Mississippi
sheriffs died in the line of duty.

Lee County Sheriff Harold Ray Presley was killed in a shootout that
also left his assailant, Billy Ray Stone, dead in June.

In March, Simpson County Sheriff E.C. Mullins died of an apparent
heart attack after being assaulted by a suspect in his patrol car.

Earlier this month, a Hinds County auxiliary deputy was hospitalized
for more than a week with a head injury he suffered while helping
arrest suspects in a drug and prostitution ring at a Jackson motel.

Reserve Deputy Randy Atkinson was hit from behind by a suspect and
suffered head trauma when he fell to the pavement.

Last year, Goodman Assistant Police Chief Emma Horton was shot and
killed at her home. Former Goodman police officer Eddie Myers will
stand trial in April in Horton's murder.