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Ex-cops sentenced to 12 years eachBy JUDY McCULLOCHOf The Leader-C all StaffTwo former policemen were sentenced today to serve 12 years each at Parchman for burglary and attempted burglary.Jones County Circuit Court Judge Billy Joe Landrum sentenced former Laurel policeman David Eugene Houston, 30, of Route 3 and Jack Patrick Cassady, 32, a former Heidelberg policeman, to 12 years each at Parchman.A charge of arson against the pair was dismissed through plea bargaining, according to Wyatt Collins, Jones County district attorney.F'arren Windham of the district attorney's office said that the men will begin serving their sentences immediately.“We are not sure how much of the sentence they will have to serve. That is up to the officials at the Department of Corrections. Typically, though, the inmates serve about one-third or less of a burglary sentence,” Windham said.He added that it will also be up to the officials at Parchman to determine when Houston and Cassady will qualify for parole.“Many times that depends on howwell they behave in prison or on other determining factors. Windham said.Houston, a former officer with the Laurel Police Department and Cassady, a former officer with the Heidelberg Police Department and security guard at Jones County Community Hospital were arrested following an intensive investigation by the LPD into a number of burglaries reported in north Laurel.Both men were allegedly on duty at Jones County Community Hospi tal as security guards when they stole a 1986 Monte Carlo belonging to a auxiliary sheriff’s deputy on March 2. After driving the vehicle to Wansley Road, the men reportedly set the car on fire.Houston and Cassady were arrested after a burglary at Stan Hoven Realty.The maximum sentence for burglary is seven years. Collins asked for six years for each charge.J. Larry Walters, county attorney, said, “It saddens me deeply, of course, when an officer is involved in a crime, but an example must be made as a deterrent to others; hence, the maximum punishment must be meted out, and in this case, it has been.”
Newspaper Details
Laurel Leader Call
Laurel, Mississippi, US
Wed, Apr 15, 1987
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
St T.
LA, USA 24 Jul 2021
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