Memphis woman booked on drug charges

Tammy Vanessa Thomas

News Briefs From Across The State

By Monica Land

Tammy Vanessa Thomas

Suspect pulled over during traffic stop

Authorities said a 38-year-old woman from Memphis was arrested on Aug. 9, after they found more than 4 pounds of marijuana in her car during a traffic stop. The Monroe County Sheriff's Department told WTVA that Tammy Vanessa Thomas, 38, was arrested after her vehicle was pulled over on U.S. Highway 45.

Authorities said they recovered about four pounds, 11 ounces of marijuana from her vehicle.

Thomas was booked with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

It was not immediately clear whether she has an attorney.

Ex-Vanderbilt player pleads not guilty in rape

One of the former Vanderbilt players charged with rape has entered a not guilty plea and waived the right to appear at his arraignment.

Nineteen-year-old Jaborian McKenzie, of Woodville, Miss., along with three other ex-players, allegedly raped an unconscious student at a campus dormitory in June.

Also charged are 20-year-old Brandon Vandenburg, of Indio, Calif.; 19-year-old Cory Batey, of Nashville; and 19-year-old Brandon Banks, of Brandywine, Md.

McKenzie and Banks are currently free on bond.

Authorities say the investigation of the June 23 incident at the Gillette House dormitory is ongoing.

The players were dismissed from the team June 29.

McKenzie's plea was entered on Tuesday at the criminal court in Nashville. Arraignment for all four is scheduled for Aug. 21.

2nd guilty plea entered in business fraud case

A woman has pleaded guilty as part of the fraud investigation of a shipping company in south Mississippi.

Jennifer Griswold waived indictment and pleaded guilty to one count of withholding information on a crime, says her lawyer, Peter Barrett.

Griswold had been charged with conspiracy, but agreed to plead guilty to the other charge.

Dustin Lee Griswold and Jennifer Griswold were indicted May 14 on charges related to Harmoni Shipping in Biloxi. The Griswolds are married.

Dustin Griswold was charged with one count of conspiracy and 15 counts of fraud, but he pleaded guilty only to the conspiracy count on Aug. 7 in U.S. District Court in Gulfport. The court's website didn't say when he will be sentenced.

Dustin Griswold has been held without bond.

Court affirms dismissal in stillbirth case

The Mississippi Supreme Court has affirmed a lower court's dismissal of an indictment against a woman who suffered a stillbirth and was arrested in 2010 because of alleged drug use during her pregnancy.

Nina Buckhalter was charged with negligent culpable manslaughter, but a local judge threw out the case in 2012. Prosecutors appealed.

In a ruling, the Mississippi Supreme Court said the indictment, which alleged Buckhalter willfully caused the death of the fetus, was “fatally flawed.''

Buckhalter was in her 31st week of pregnancy at the time of the stillbirth, documents say.

Assistant District Attorney Doug Miller had argued the trial court erred in finding a woman cannot be charged with a crime when her acts lead to the death of a fetus.

The justices didn't address that claim.