LAMAR JOINS NEW DRUG PROGRAM

The way law enforcement fights the state's drug problem is changing,
and for the better, according to Lamar County Sheriff Danny Rigel.

The Lamar County Sheriff's Department is part of the first pilot
program in the state to increase manpower without increasing budgets
in a cooperative effort to catch drug offenders. The department has
partnered with the Pearl River County Sheriff's Department and the
Mis-sissippi Bureau of Narcotics to create the six-officer Pine Belt
Narcotics Enforcement Team.

"To me, it's an innovative approach to facing the drug problem," Rigel
said Friday. "It's a win-win for everybody."

The team's major benefit is county narcotics agents will have state
authority in drug investigations, which will allow them to cross
county lines to track down offenders, according to Mississippi Bureau
of Narcotics Enforcement Com-mander Bobby Grimes.

Two agents from each of the organizations are assigned to the
two-county area. By using officers familiar with the neighborhoods and
agents with state networking abilities, offenders will stand less of a
chance in avoiding the law.

Purvis resident Willie Gray is excited about the enforcement team and
what it means to his community.

"I think it's a good thing for the community with people concentrating
on one area," said Gray, pastor of Chapel Hill United Methodist Church
in Laurel. "We need good people in there working that's really going
after big drug dealers."

"It will promote communication and avoid duplication," said Aaron
Russell Jr., chief deputy with the Pearl River County Sheriff's Department.

The enforcement team, which has been working together unofficially for
months, will be under the supervision of the district attorney's office.

"I think that it's going to be an excellent opportunity for state and
local law enforcement to work on this problem," said District Attorney
Buddy McDonald. "They'll be able to track these culprits down in any
part of the state."

All three agencies will gain as part of the team. The county sheriff's
departments will have access to state intelligence and equipment and
MBN will be able to use the community knowledge of the deputies to
further investigations.

"We will have state authority in Pearl River County," Rigel said. "And
people that deal with illegal drugs know that deputies don't have
jurisdiction across county lines so they go to other counties."

Lamar and Pearl River County were selected for the pilot program
because of shared demographics.

"We have a similar demographic, common problem areas and common
defendants," Russell said. The program also must involve counties in
the same judicial district.

The three major narcotics problems in the counties involve marijuana,
cocaine and crystal methamphetamine, Russell said.

"Since January of this year, there have been 150 meth cases between
Pearl River County and Lamar County," Russell said.

But Grimes said the counties aren't being singled out.

"They are no different than any other part of the state, it's just
that the sheriffs and the DA stepped up and said they wanted to
address these things on a full-time basis and they wanted to have a
structure to it," Grimes said.