EX-DEPUTIES ON TASK FORCE PLEAD GUILTY

LAUREL - Sheriff Larry Dykes has spent many days in the Jones County
Circuit Courthouse, sometimes as a witness.

On Tuesday, though, he was witness to three of his former deputies
pleading guilty to various charges ranging from embezzlement to
beating and torturing handcuffed suspects and planting illegal drugs
on residents. "This is the hardest day I've ever spent in this
courtroom," Dykes said as he quietly watched Roger Williams, 43;
Chris Smith, 34; and Randall Parker, 32, plead guilty before Circuit
Judge Billy Joe Landrum. "You grow up with people and work with them
and trust them. When something like this happens, it's a detriment to
all law enforcement in the state of Mississippi," Dykes added.

The charges against the three former deputies were the product of a
five-month investigation of the Southeast Mississippi Drug Task Force
of which they were members. The task force, which also included
deputies from Covington and Smith counties, was shut down earlier
this year as a result of the investigation. Task force members from
Covington and Smith counties were not implicated in wrongdoing,
District Attorney Tony Buckley said Monday. The former Jones County
deputies are scheduled to be sentenced in January. Williams, the task
force commander, faces up to 10 years in prison. Smith and Parker
each face up to five years behind bars.

The ex-deputies had nothing to say after Landrum accepted their
guilty pleas. Each of the former officers pleaded guilty to planting
cocaine on one suspect and methamphetamine on three other suspects.
They also pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice by providing the
district attorney's office with false information.

Williams pleaded guilty to hitting a handcuffed suspect with an ax
handle. Smith pleaded guilty to hitting a defendant with his fist,
shocking a suspect with a stun gun in his private area and kicking a
handcuffed defendant. Parker and Williams also pleaded guilty to
embezzling more than $2,000 from the task force. The indictment did
not detail the exact amount of money taken. Assistant District
Attorney J. Ronald Parrish said the state Department of Audit is
looking at the task force's financial records. Jesse Bingham,
director of the state auditor's investigative division, said his
office neither confirms nor denies the department's work.

The deputies' arrests forced the district attorney's office to
dismiss 34 drug cases that were investigated by the task force. The
investigation began in April after Dykes uncovered evidence of
wrongdoing. The sheriff turned the investigation over to the
Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.

The three former officers were released on signature bonds which
means they didn't have to put up any money to stay out of jail.
Landrum warned them that if they got into any trouble while they are
out on bond, any agreements reached with prosecutors would be tossed
out. "You have been in this court many times and you know the law,"
Landrum said. "If you do anything against the law, you will
jeopardize what happened in court today."

The judge also questioned why sentencing would be delayed by more
than four months. Normally, defendants are sentenced when they plead
guilty or are convicted. Parrish said his office needed the delay in
sentencing in the event all three former deputies did not plead guilty.

"If we had to go to trial on any one of the cases, any testimony
would be needed before they were sentenced," Parrish said.

Parrish said Parker cooperated with investigators once the
investigation began. Williams later worked with investigators.

Landrum singled out two state investigators Roy Clingon and Jimmy
Herzon for special praise.

"You have performed a service for the citizens of Jones County and
this court and the district attorney's office is appreciative of
that," Landrum told the investigators.

"This state is well served to have men of this caliber working,"
Buckley said of the investigators.

In an unrelated case, another former task force deputy, Jason Scott
Sims, was allowed to resign Friday after prosecutors filed a motion
calling for his dismissal from office.

Sims is accused of engaging in inappropriate physical contact with a
17-year-old West Jones High School student.

Although Sims faces no criminal charges, Parrish said information
about Sims will be sent to the state office that certifies law
enforcement officers.