Third former Miss. drug task force agent sentenced
Published 3:36 pm Thursday, January 25, 2007
A third former member of a drug task force was sentenced Tuesday to 12 months in prison and 12 months of house arrest.
Christopher Smith, a former agent with the Southeast Mississippi Drug Task Force, pleaded guilty in August to two counts of conspiracy to falsely and maliciously arrest another person, four counts of simple assault and one count of obstruction of justice.
The sentence was the result of a plea bargain agreement between Smith’s attorney and the district attorney’s office.
The criminal charges reportedly resulted from an investigation into reported criminal activity involving a series of drug arrests that occurred during 2005.
Two other former agents, Roger Williams and Randall Parker, were sentenced Jan. 18. Williams was sentenced to serve 15 months in jail and 15 months of house arrest. Parker will serve 12 months of house arrest. Both men also will perform community service.
Prosecutors said actions by the three officers resulted in more than three dozen drug cases in Jones County being dismissed. The task force no longer exists.