Aaron Russell indicted

Published 5:23 pm Wednesday, February 5, 2014

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The prosecuting attorney for Pearl River County has been indicted.

State Auditor Stacey Pickering said Wednesday that 50-year-old Aaron Russell has been indicted on one count each of altering public records and committing fraud by a public official.

Special agents of the Auditor’s Office and Pearl River County Sheriff deputies arrested Russell at his home earlier Wednesday and he was transported to the Pearl River County jail and booked. Bond information was not immediately available. It was unclear whether he’s represented by counsel.

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Pickering, in a statement, said Russell is accused of setting up and executing an unauthorized pretrial diversion program in which he accepted money from defendants in return for their charges being dropped.

Russell is currently serving his second term as county attorney.