Jefferson Davis County, Mississippi has produced several notable lawsuits and settlements over the past two decades, ranging from a $1.4 million recovery of misused school trust funds to criminal convictions of Bassfield town officials, a federal voter-roll consent decree, a reversed juvenile detention judgment at the state Supreme Court, and two indictments of former officials filed in 2026.
The 16th Section School Fund Settlement
The largest case tied to the county involved the Jefferson Davis County School District’s misuse of 16th Section land funds. Under Mississippi law, Section 16 of each township is set aside for schools and leased to generate revenue, and districts may spend only the interest and income, not the principal.
A joint investigation by the State Auditor’s Office, the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office, and the Mississippi Department of Education concluded that the district had improperly transferred money from its 16th Section principal fund to its general maintenance fund. The school board had voted to borrow against the fund for asbestos removal at J.E. Johnson Elementary and to address a bat infestation, but auditors found most of the money was never spent on either project.
In February 2007, then-State Auditor Phil Bryant hand-delivered formal demands for repayment totaling $1,797,542.64. The demands were split six ways. Superintendent Wayne Fortenberry and board members Jesse Holloway, Barbara Magee, and Donald Milloy were each assessed $349,335.29. Board members Billy Boleware and Belinda Butler were each assessed $200,100.74.
Later that year, the State Auditor’s Office sued the school district and its surety, CNA/Western Surety, in Hinds County Chancery Court. The complaint alleged violations of Mississippi Code Annotated ยง 29-3-113 over two fiscal years: $906,885.69 in unallowable 2004 expenses (after subtracting $153,114.31 in expenses deemed permissible) and $500,000 earmarked in 2005 for asbestos removal that was never performed.
The case settled on September 22, 2009. The district had already repaid $781,472, and the agreement required the remaining $625,413.69 to be deposited into the 16th Section land account by October 15, 2009, bringing total recovery to $1,406,885.69. State Auditor Stacey Pickering, who had succeeded Bryant, said the Jefferson Davis County recovery was part of $3.1 million his office recovered statewide between 2008 and 2009. The record does not indicate criminal charges against any of the named officials; the matter resolved through civil demands and the settlement.
Bassfield Surplus Property Convictions
Six officials from the Town of Bassfield were convicted of fraudulently acquiring state surplus property for personal use. Mississippi’s Surplus Property program lets local governments buy surplus federal and state equipment cheaply, and auditors found these officials obtained items ostensibly for city purposes and then kept them.
After a two-year investigation by the State Auditor’s Office, the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration, and District Attorney Michael Guest’s office, the defendants were sentenced in Rankin County Circuit Court. Each received a 10-year sentence with the Mississippi Department of Corrections, suspended, and five years of supervised probation. Fire Chief Tommy Dewitt was also ordered to pay restitution for two items that were never recovered.
The defendants were former fire chief Tommy Dewitt, former mayor Jerry Holland, former deputy court clerk and police officer Dianna Hutchinson, former maintenance engineer Robert Mauldin, fire chief Billy Matthews, and city clerk Brenda Saulters.
Investigators recovered property valued at roughly $309,000, including travel trailers, boats, laptop computers, and heavy machinery. Two items were returned to private individuals under a “good faith purchase” exemption, and the other 22 items went back to the state’s surplus inventory.
Voter Roll Consent Decree
In April 2013, the American Civil Rights Union sued Jefferson Davis County in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi in Hattiesburg. The ACRU alleged that the county’s voter rolls listed more registered voters than voting-age citizens, with registration rates between 104 and 106 percent from 2010 through 2012.
The county settled in October 2013 by signing a consent decree. Under the agreement, the county committed to:
- Remove deceased voters, duplicate entries, and individuals convicted of disqualifying felonies by January 31, 2014.
- Mail address verification cards to all registered voters by November 15, 2013, and mark non-respondents as “inactive.”
- Report the total discrepancies found to the ACRU by January 31, 2014, with quarterly updates until the agreement expired on December 31, 2016.
The county also agreed to pay up to $7,500 in ACRU attorney’s fees. The record does not indicate whether the county fully completed every term of the decree by the 2016 termination date.
Juvenile Detention Reversed by the Supreme Court
In R.P. and D.O. v. State of Mississippi, decided in 2014, the Mississippi Supreme Court found that a minor identified as J.P. had been held in a juvenile detention facility for 103 days and then transferred to the Jefferson Davis County Jail for another 30 days after turning eighteen, all without ever being adjudicated delinquent. The youth court had filed its delinquency petition 48 days late (the statute allows five) and never held the required adjudicatory hearing within 21 days.
The youth court had nevertheless ordered J.P.’s parents to pay roughly $9,380 in detention and transportation costs, with the father making $100 monthly payments. The Supreme Court reversed the judgment, holding that the youth court lacked jurisdiction to commit the minor or assess costs because no adjudication of delinquency had ever occurred, and that the state cannot charge parents for detention that was never legally justified.
The Mississippi Legislature had separately amended state law in 2013 to clarify that parents may be charged for detention costs only after a child has been adjudicated delinquent, and must receive an itemized bill with the chance to request adjustments.
School Consolidation Suit
In November 2016, the Jefferson Davis County School Preservation Action Group, made up of residents Bobby L. Wilson, Nadine Thompson, and Pat Courtney, sued the school district over the planned consolidation of Bassfield and Prentiss schools. The group argued the district had failed to seek meaningful input from taxpayers and students, had not publicly announced closure plans or the site of the proposed new school, and had not adequately weighed long bus travel times or the financial feasibility of new construction in a county with a declining population.
The plaintiffs sought an injunction forcing the district to release all consolidation plans before taking further action. A chancery court judge denied the request for an emergency injunction that same month. The superintendent later issued a public statement on the consolidation, but the record does not detail any further proceedings or a final resolution.
2026 Indictments of Former Officials
Two criminal cases involving former local officials emerged in early 2026.
Vernon Dampier, a former investigator with the Jefferson Davis County Sheriff’s Office, was indicted by a grand jury and arrested on March 4, 2026, on one count of hindering prosecution and one count of tampering with physical evidence. The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office is prosecuting the case, and Judge Prentiss Harrell signed the arrest order. Dampier was released on his own recognizance and relieved of his duties. The Attorney General’s Office described the investigation as ongoing and has not publicly disclosed details about the underlying case Dampier allegedly obstructed. His trial is set for September 23, 2026, in Jefferson Davis County Circuit Court.
Dana Melissa “Missy” Jones, a former Prentiss city clerk, was indicted on embezzlement charges. The indictment, signed March 2, 2026, alleges that Jones stole more than $10,000 from the Prentiss Run for the Roses 5K nonprofit while serving as the committee’s treasurer between July 31, 2023, and June 13, 2025. Jones had chaired the committee for several years. She was arrested and booked into the Jefferson Davis County jail on March 9, 2026, and Judge Harrell signed an order denying bond. Her trial is scheduled for August 18, 2026.