Keeping drug dealers behind bars continues to be the major focus of the Jones County District Attorney's office. "If you sell drugs, you are going to jail and you'll get at least seven years," said District Attorney Grant Hedgepeth. "We've had 359 convictions on drug sales (in the past three years) and the majority of the cases came within the city of Laurel." When reviewing his office's numbers from 2002, Hedgepeth said 872 cases were sent to DA's office, resulting in 448 indictments in Second District and 79 indictments in First District. [continues 104 words]
Dog bites and Laurel's K-9 officers have received a some attention in recent weeks because of an ongoing Civil Service Commission case. However, statistics given by police chief John Waterson show there have been three dog bites since K-9 officers since they first joined the police force in October of 1989. The latest dog bite incident occurred March 26, 2001, during the arrest of Larry K. Breland. Breland alleged that Officer Mark Brewer allowed his K-9 partner, Rex, to attack him while he was handcuffed and lying on the ground. [continues 728 words]
