A judge set a $400,000 bond for Webster County Sheriff Timothy Seth “Tim” Mitchell following his arrest last week on multiple felony charges.
The Mississippi Department of Public Safety and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation announced Dec. 19 that Mitchell, 53, was arrested that morning. The arrest was made around 7 a.m. at his home at 760 Hobby Road between Eupora and Tomnolen on the south side of Grady Road.
The Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol; MHP SWAT, Special Operations Group and Interdiction teams; Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics; Mississippi Attorney General’s Office; Mississippi State Auditor’s Office; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; and the 5th District Attorney’s Office participated in the investigation and resulting arrest.
Mitchell was arrested on these charges:
• two counts of embezzlement;
• two counts of trafficking in stolen firearms;
• one count of attempting sex and/or sexual acts with an Inmate;
• one count of tampering with physical evidence;
• three counts of retaliation against a witness;
• one count of permitting possession and/or sale of controlled substance in jail;
• and two counts of furnishing an inmate with weapons, cell phone and narcotics.
Initial Appearance
Mitchell was remanded to the custody of the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department until his initial appearance, which was Thursday afternoon in the Eupora Municipal Courtroom.
Circuit Judge Joseph Loper presided over the 10-minute proceeding. Mitchell was brought in wearing orange jail scrubs, shackled at the waist and ankles, and was seated beside his retained attorney, Austin Vollor of Starkville. A number of family members were seated together on one side of the courtroom.
While informing Mitchell of the criminal charges brought against him, advising him of his rights and other formalities, Loper revealed that the warrant he signed leading to Mitchell’s arrest was issued Dec. 16.
When the judge broached the subject of bond, District Attorney Doug Evans replied that, because of the nature of the charges and some worries of threats, both sides had agreed to offer a bond of $400,000. Evans also said they had agreed that if at any point Mitchell makes bond, he be confined to his home and must wear an ankle bracelet while out on bond. Vollor acknowledged that his client agreed to that bond amount and those terms.
Loper did set bond at $400,000 with the conditions that Mitchell be electronically monitored if released on bond and stay at home unless he is attending court proceedings or meeting with his attorney. Loper specified that that the bond be a surety bond. A surety bond is one provided by a bail bondsman to have a defendant released from jail for a percentage of the total bail pending trial, arranged on the basis of the financial guarantee of a person or the surety to make payment.
DA: Other
Charges Possible
Mitchell was not required to enter a plea at his initial appearance and Loper told him he has the right to a preliminary hearing. The sheriff was apparently transported back to jail in Oxford afterwards. Webster County Circuit Clerk Sherry Henderson confirmed that bond would have to posted with Webster County Circuit Court but had not been made as of midday Friday.
Evans told The Associated Press and other news outlets the charges would be presented to a grand jury, but said he wasn’t sure when. The next regularly scheduled grand jury in Webster County convenes Jan. 14.
If convicted, Mitchell faces a minimum of nine years and a maximum of 152 years, along with fines up to $102,000 for the 12 felony counts.
Evans also told AP that charges against others are possible. “I have had cases where officers have been charged, but I have never had a case quite like this,” he told the news agency.
Asked after Mitchell’s initial appearance if anyone else had been arrested in the case, Evans told the Progress-Times “not at this point.”
MBI Agent’s
Sworn Statement
Although Evans said affidavits outlining the charges against Mitchell were to be filed with the circuit clerk’s office Friday, Henderson said then they had not been filed as of midday. However, a Dec. 20 report by AP’s Jeff Amy and Emily Wagster Pettus cites a sworn statement from MBI Agent Mark Steed with details of the charges.
AP reported that Steed’s statement accuses Mitchell of multiple crimes beginning in November 2017, when he’s accused of illegally buying pills from an informant.
Beginning this spring, AP reported from the statement, Mitchell is accused of seeking sex with two women in his jail. He’s also accused of ordering a deputy to remove four guns from his department’s evidence locker and selling or giving at least some to a department employee and an inmate. Mitchell also provided that same inmate with illegal drugs and a cellphone, Steed says, while ordering the deputy to remove illegal drugs from evidence.
Mitchell threatened then-Chief Deputy Jeffrey Mann and two other employees if they told anyone, the charges say. Mann, cited as one of nine witnesses in the case, submitted a letter of resignation to county supervisors Oct. 31 in which he accused Mitchell of crimes.
“After witnessing the illegal activities Sheriff Tim Mitchell has taken part (in), I cannot be part of this organization,” wrote Mann, who had already announced he was running for sheriff next year. Mann’s resignation was to take effect Nov. 6 but Mitchell fired him after the Oct. 31 county board meeting for “poor job performance.” Mitchell, on the same day, denied Mann’s accusations in an interview with this newspaper and said he did know of any illegal activities in which he was involved.
Evidence Collected
After Mitchell was arrested last Wednesday, dozens of law enforcement officers swooped down on the sheriff’s office and jail on Government Avenue. Scores of MHP and other law enforcement vehicles were parked by the facility and across the street in the old Garan lot.
WTVA-TV reported county jail inmates were led out to state Highway Patrol cars where they were questioned. Master Sgt. Criss Turnipseed, public affairs officer with MHP, said in a broadcast interview that officials were also searching the sheriff’s office, taking items and reviewing records. These included investigators from the state auditor’s office who inventoried Sheriff’s Department equipment and evidence.
“Today’s events (on Dec. 19) show the important law enforcement work that can be done when multiple agencies, with a variety of different types of expertise, work together. I’m thankful for the team of agents from the auditor’s office who worked on this case with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation,” state Auditor Shad White said.
“My goal is to continue to forge partnerships around law enforcement and government so we can hold lawbreakers accountable. This situation in Webster County involved serious allegations of embezzlement, and the hard work of all the involved agencies ensured we minimized any risk from today’s actions. We will continue to work with MBI and prosecutors to help move this case to completion,” White added.
Andy McCants
Now in Charge
Mitchell, who has one year remaining in his second term as sheriff, submitted his resignation to the Webster County Board of Supervisors late last month. He said he was resigning as sheriff effective Jan. 2 because of declining health issues. Mitchell has had two hip surgeries since taking office, and said this fall he had been on medical leave for two months because of back and leg problems for which he had been receiving treatments.
Because the vacancy will occur in a year in which an election will normally be held for county offices, including sheriff, no special election will be necessary before next summer’s primary elections.
As of his arrest, supervisors had not appointed anyone to succeed Mitchell as interim sheriff after his resignation takes effect. They had planned to discuss the sheriff and Sheriff’s Department at a special meeting today but board President Pat Cummings said it has been canceled. They still have a recessed meeting set for 8:30 a.m. Friday, which was scheduled before the sheriff’s arrest.
The special meeting was canceled mainly because the sheriff, after his arrest, appointed Investigator Andy McCants as chief deputy and put him in charge at the sheriff’s office. Evans hand-delivered two statements regarding McCants and another deputy to Chancery Clerk Russ Turner on Thursday. Both were signed by Mitchell in his capacity as “duly elected sheriff” and effective as of Dec. 19.
One document states that, until further notice, Mitchell has appointed McCants to be the chief deputy of Webster County.
“During such time as I am unable to serve as the sheriff of Webster County, I authorize Chief Deputy Andy McCants to have the full powers of sheriff so that he may be able to serve the people of Webster County,” Mitchell wrote. “This includes but is not limited to the powers to hire and fire personnel, run the Sheriff’s Department and handle all budget matters.”
Evans also told Loper at the conclusion of Mitchell’s initial appearance that McCants had been placed in charge at the Sheriff’s Department. In response to a follow-up question from the judge, Evans said McCants “was not a subject of this investigation in any manner and we feel that he is definitely qualified to carry out those duties.”
Deputy Fired
In the other statement, Mitchell wrote, “I hereby fire and terminate the employment of Deputy Sheriff Landon Griffin. This termination is due to criminal activities and activities unbecoming an officer of the law. He shall immediately turn in his badge, weapon, vehicle, all property belonging to Webster County and any and all seized property or evidence in his possession.”
Contacted Friday for a comment on the reasons given for his firing, Griffin placed his attorney, Francis Springer of Jackson, on the phone to respond. Springer had not seen the sheriff’s statement at that time but said, “There was no criminal activity involving him (Griffin).” Springer also asserted that Griffin was terminated as a whistleblower.
Mitchell is the second Mississippi sheriff arrested this year. William Brewer resigned as sheriff in Tallahatchie County in August, days after he was arrested on federal charges related to narcotics trafficking and extortion. Brewer pleaded guilty Nov. 1 to one count of attempting to extort a bribe and is scheduled for sentencing in February, according to AP.
