LAFAYETTE SLAYING
2 arrested in Lafayette shooting
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - Two people wanted in the death a missing man in Lafayette County have been arrested in Jackson.
Sheriff's Department investigator Alan Wilburn says Anthony Darrel Smith of Abbeville, Miss., and Alison Raynetta Alexander of Champaign, Ill., were arrested without incident Friday. They are being held without bond in the county jail pending an initial court appearance.
Each is charged with murder in the shooting death last week of 21-year-old Xavier Benson in the Western Hills neighborhood near Oxford.
PUGH APPEAL
US Supreme Court refuses to hear Pugh appeal
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal from Eddie James Pugh IV who was convicted for his role in a 2008 double kidnapping and slaying.
Pugh was sentenced to life without parole in 2010 in Jackson County for capital murder.
Authorities say Pugh was one three men who kidnapped, shot and wounded New Orleans native Rahman MoGilles and shot and killed Byron Kelsey McCoy.
Prosecutors say the trio allegedly forced MoGilles and McCoy into a vehicle and drove them into Mississippi. McCoy died of gunshot wounds and MoGilles was wounded. They set fire to the vehicle containing McCoy's body.
The Mississippi Court of Appeals upheld Pugh's conviction in 2012.
Pugh had challenged some physical evidence in case and alleged flaws in his indictment.
BROOKHAVEN ALDERMAN
Dual offices pose issue for new alderman
BROOKHAVEN, Miss. (AP) - Brookhaven alderman-elect Randy Belcher has decided to resign as a deputy sheriff and stay with his elected position.
Belcher was elected alderman in May. He is to take office July 1.
According to state law, Belcher could not simultaneously serve in two branches of government. The alderman's post is considered legislative and the deputy's executive.
Belcher tells the Daily Leader that his research showed there would be a conflict of interest so he decided to go with his new city post. He says he didn't want to let down the people who voted for him.
Belcher says his decision to leave the sheriff's department will result in a $25,000 pay cut, but he is confident the overall outcome will be beneficial.
EMCF WARDEN
New warden named at EMCF
MERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) - The East Mississippi Correctional Facility has named a new warden.
Issa Arnita, spokesman for prison operator Management and Training Corporation, says Jerry Buscher has been tapped as the new warden, taking over for Frank Shaw who will be the warden at Wilkinson County Correctional Facility in Woodville. Buscher started Monday.
MTC, based in Centerville, Utah, operates both prisons. EMCF is located in the Lost Gap community y in western Lauderdale County.
Arnita says Buscher spent more than 25 years with the Illinois Department of Corrections, most recently serving as executive chief to the director. He also served as warden multiple times, regional deputy director, and operations security director.
VILONIA-DOUBLE FATAL
Vilonia couple killed in Mississippi car crash
VILONIA, Ark. (AP) - Authorities say a Vilonia couple was killed over the weekend in a car crash near Vicksburg, Miss.
Authorities tell the Log Cabin Democrat that 49-year-old Barbara Goff and 49-year-old Craig Goff were killed in the crash on Interstate 20. Authorities say the Goffs struck a vehicle that had stopped on the interstate for another accident.
Authorities say a tractor trailer then crashed into the Goffs' vehicle, causing their car to catch fire.
The Mississippi Department of Public Safety says Barbara Goff was pronounced dead at the scene and Craig Goff died at a nearby hospital.
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