ATTORNEY ACCUSED OF SELLING DRUGS TO INMATE

BROOKHAVEN - A McComb attorney faces drug charges after selling
marijuana to an inmate-client at the Lincoln County Jail, authorities
said.

John E. Jackson, 54, was arrested Wednesday after an undercover
operation at the jail, said Chris Picou, narcotics officer for the
Lincoln County Sheriff's Department.

Jackson was charged with sale of marijuana inside a correctional
facility. He was freed on a $5,000 bond after being questioned by
authorities.

Picou said an investigation began several weeks ago after a state
probation officer received a tip that an attorney was bringing
cigarettes and marijuana into the jail.

"Based on the information he gave us, we went to the jail and did a
search that turned up a bag of marijuana," Picou said.

Picou said authorities developed an informant and waited for the
opportunity to conduct the operation. The officer declined to identify
the informant, other than to acknowledge he was one of Jackson's clients.

"The case was videotaped and audiotaped," Picou said of the Tuesday
action. "We handled it just like we do any other drug case."

Jackson, contacted by telephone Thursday, denied bringing drugs to the
jail and said he was framed by a habitual offender "with nothing to
lose and everything to gain."

"This is ridiculous," Jackson said. "I believe something was done in
exchange for him (the inmate) trying to set me up. I don't mess with
drugs, I never have and never will."

Jackson said he asked the arresting officers to show him the
recordings they claimed to have collected "but they refused."

Sale of marijuana inside a correctional facility carries up to a
seven-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $25,000, Picou said.
Jackson could also be disbarred if convicted of a felony, he said.

Attempts to get drugs into the jail is a concern, said Lincoln County
Sheriff Lynn Boyte. He said attorneys have access to their clients 24
hours a day, but that privilege appears to have been abused in this
case.

"In spite of all we check, who would have thought you would have to
worry about something like this," Boyte said. "It's just another
eye-opener to the public about what's going on here."