FROM THE U-S ATTORNEY’S OFFICE IN JACKSON:
A Red Water man pleaded guilty to assaulting a federal officer, announced U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.According to court documents, Errol John, II, 22, assaulted a tribal police officer who was responding to a domestic disturbance at John’s home. Court documents revealed John assaulted the officer by firing a shotgun in the officer’s direction, resulting in a shotgun blast striking the windshield of the officer’s patrol car. Fortunately, the officer was unharmed.
John is scheduled to be sentenced on March 13, 2023. He faces a maximum penalty of twenty years in prison. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Choctaw Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin J. Payne prosecuted the case.
A Pearl River man was sentenced to 57 months in prison for Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine on the Choctaw Indian Reservation, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Kevin Gaddy of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Mississippi Field Office. According to court documents, Shaun Dougherty, 37, of the Pearl River Community of the Choctaw Indian Reservation, distributed methamphetamine on the Choctaw Indian Reservation from May 2019 to April 2020.
In July of 2021, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against Dougherty charging him with possession and distribution of methamphetamine on the Choctaw Indian Reservation. On August 31, 2022, Dougherty entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Dougherty was sentenced to a prison term of 57 months to be followed by five years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the Choctaw Police Department of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin J. Payne and Special Assistant United States Attorney Brian Burns.
