TUNICA SHERIFF CHARGED AGAIN

Extortion count added by state

Tunica County Sheriff Jerry Ellington was charged Thursday with extorting
$2,500 from a Jackson bail bonding company just a day after facing similar
charges in federal court.

Ellington, elected in 1999, is accused of demanding money from Hampton
Company National Surety of Jackson, which issues bonds throughout the state,
including Tunica.

Ellington took a $2,500 check from the company when he met with bondsman
Marty McKee on June 6 at the Flying J truck stop in Rankin County, Rankin
County prosecutor Richard Wilson said.

Ellington promised the bonding company he would steer business its way in
exchange for the payoff, Wilson said.

"He said he had some burglary cases coming up, and they would get some of
them," Wilson said.

What Ellington didn't know was that one of the owners of the bonding
company, Hampton Gardner, had contacted the public integrity division at the
attorney general's office, authorities said.

Investigators recorded telephone calls Ellington made to the bonding
company, including one in which he arranged the meeting to get his money,
Wilson said.

Investigators used cameras and tape recorders to capture the meeting, Wilson
said. Ellington cashed the check after the meeting, he said.

If convicted, he faces a maximum five-year prison sentence and a $5,000
fine.

Ellington, 45, was arrested Thursday after a 45-minute probable-cause
hearing in Rankin County Circuit Court. State law requires a hearing before
arrest warrants can be issued against law enforcement officers.

Ellington, released on $25,000 bond, could not be reached for comment. He is
up for re-election Tuesday.

His arrest in Rankin County came just one day after Ellington was arrested
on federal extortion and bribery charges.

He is accused of soliciting and accepting more than $5,000 in kickbacks from
a deputy between June 2002 and Jan. 3 in return for promoting the deputy and
giving him a pay raise, according to the federal indictment.

The promotion put the deputy in a position to steal money from drug dealers
and other people, the indictment said. The money was to be split with
Ellington, the indictment said.

Ellington also took cash payoffs plus 30 percent of the premiums on every
bond written by a bail bondsman in exchange for the bondsman's business, the
indictment said. Those payoffs exceeded $5,000, the indictment said.

If convicted, Ellington faces up to 60 years in prison and a $1 million fine
on the federal charges.

Until the charges against Ellington are resolved, Chief Deputy Leonard
Conway is running the department.

"The sheriff's department is in good hands,"said Tunica County spokesman
Jeff Piselli. "It is continuing to enforce the laws of Mississippi and
Tunica County."

Ellington is the second Tunica County sheriff to face corruption charges in
the past four years.

Former Sheriff John Pickett III was sentenced to a 20-month prison term
after pleading guilty to extorting more than $86,000 from a bail bondsman.
The conviction was one of 10 that came out of a federal corruption probe in
Tunica County several years ago.