Published: June 15, 2007 10:16 am      

Former Moss Point officer sentenced for drug trafficking

Gulfport — A former Moss Point police officer has been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for drug trafficking on the job.

Wendy Mason Peyregne wept Thursday in court and apologized to her family, fellow police officers and the community before the sentence was announced.

“I’ve taken advantage of a lot of people and things in the past,” said Peyregne, who was shackled and wearing an orange prison jump suit. “I really didn’t think I was addicted to meth. I was introduced to meth by my ex-husband.”

Peyregne was arrested in December 2006 on drug trafficking charges after a two-year undercover investigation. She was charged with six counts, but four were dropped in exchange for her guilty plea.

During the investigation, FBI agents said they caught Peyregne on tape making some of the deals, often while on duty at the Moss Point Police Department.

FBI agents used two confidential informants, including a former boyfriend, to catch Peyregne arranging, buying and selling methamphetamine.

The agents said Peyregne’s drug contacts included a major methamphetamine dealer in Alabama.

Peyregne often went to work under the influence of methamphetamine and dealt drugs from her patrol car, the investigators said.

Peyregne told U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola that she always wanted to be police officer and managed to get clean after her break from her ex- husband.

“I thought (the job in law enforcement) would help me be clean,” she said. “I’m not trying to make excuses. I humiliated myself, my family and the Moss Point Police Department.”

In the criminal affidavit, authorities said they had information on various meetings between the police officer and at least three known drug distributors. Peyregne said she used the meth she got and gave her ex-boyfriend turned informant half of it, according to a www.sunherald.com article.