GUILTY PLEAS ENTERED

- -- The three men who were the subjects of an investigation involving
wrongdoing at the Southeast Mississippi Drug Task Force appeared in
Jones County Circuit Court Tuesday morning and pleaded guilty to a
variety of charges. Roger Williams, 43, the former commander of the
now closed drug enforcement unit, pleaded guilty to four counts of
conspiracy to falsely accuse another of a felony, one count of
embezzlement, one count of simple assault and one count of obstructing justice.

Randall Parker, 31, pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement, one
count of obstructing justice and four counts of conspiracy to falsely
accuse another of a felony.

Chris Smith, 33, pleaded guilty to four counts of simple assault, two
counts of conspiracy to falsely accuse another of a felony and one
count of obstructing justice.

Each man is currently out on a $10,000 signature bond, and sentencing
will not be held until the January 2007 Jones County court session in
Laurel. Circuit Court Judge Billy Joe Landrum warned the defendants
that it was a long time until January and that they had better be on
their best behavior. "All of you are former policemen, so you know
what the laws are," Landrum told Williams. "This is an usual request
by the prosecution to delay sentencing for so long, so I'm counting
on all of you to conduct yourself accordingly." Jones County
Assistant District Attorney J. Ronald Parrish told the judge the
prosecution didn't consider any of the three men to be flight risks,
noting they all have family in Jones County.

The charges culminated from an intensive five-month inquiry that was
begun by investigators of the Jones County Sheriff's Office in April
and was then turned over to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.
After the guilty pleas were entered into court records, Landrum
thanked MBI investigators Jimmy Herzog and Roy Klingon, who attended
the proceedings, for their excellent work on this case.

"The people of Jones County appreciate your dedication," said
Landrum. During a break in the court proceedings, Jones County
District Attorney Tony Buckley said it was important these cases be
handled in Jones County by Jones County officials.

"So many times in the past, these sorts of cases have been 'farmed'
out to other agencies such as the state DA," Buckley said. "We worked
hard in order for this not to be dragged out for a year or 18 months.
We thought it was vital we handle our business ourselves." "This was
not a case we particularly enjoyed handling, but we had a job to do,"
added Parrish. "It's been a long road, and I, for one, am glad we've
reached the end of it."