Statewide News – Page 45 – The Mississippi Link

Woman gets time for selling bogus Viagra

A Madison County woman will spend the next five years behind bars for selling counterfeit Viagra from a business in Ridgeland.

Alicia Ospina, 61, of Ridgeland pleaded guilty in Madison County Circuit Court before Judge William E. Chapman III. She was sentenced to serve one year in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC), followed by five years of supervised probation. She must also pay a $1,500 fine, investigative costs, and court costs. […]

Three people feared dead in massive house fire

Kermit 0

Fire crews were still on the scene late Wednesday night looking through the rubble of a house that was fully engulfed in flames when they arrived.

Four people were at the home on Blackjack and Bardwell Roads in Oktibbeha County, when a blaze broke out in the back bedroom.

Authorities said when they arrived, an elderly man, suffering from dementia, was in the backyard. […]

Miss. trooper arrested on statutory rape charges

Kermit 0

A Mississippi state trooper remains on administrative leave after being arrested on statutory rape charges. Otis Taylor, a trooper based in the Mississippi Highway Patrol’s Brookhaven substation, was arrested Dec. 31 in Franklin County

Warren Strain, spokesman for the highway patrol, said Taylor is on leave without pay pending the outcome of the investigation.

Taylor has worked for the highway patrol since November 2007. […]

Man charged with enticement of a child

Kermit 0

A Booneville man is facing charges of enticing a child for sexual purposes.

Tupelo police said Michael C. Thornton, 29, was arrested Jan. 4.

Authorities are not releasing details about the investigation or arrest.

A bond hearing was scheduled for this week. […]

Corinth officials OK liquor ordinance

Kermit 0

The Corinth Board of Aldermen has approved an ordinance governing the sale of liquor inside the city.

Corinth voters approved the sale of alcoholic beverages in a Dec. 11 special election. The ordinance was approved Wednesday, Jan. 2.

The Daily Corinthian reported that the ordinance generally mirrors the regulations of the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control division. The city will ask the ABC for variations regarding by-the-drink sales in restaurants on Sunday and the hours of package stores. […]

2 killed in Madison County wreck

Kermit 0

Mississippi Highway Patrol spokesperson Cpl. Odis Easterling confirmed two people were killed in a two-vehicle wreck in Madison County Thursday afternoon.
The crash happened around 3:30 p.m. at Highway 51 and Highway 17 south of Pickens.

According to the highway patrol a white Chevrolet pickup traveling north on Highway 51 collided head on with a beige Chevrolet pickup attempting to turn onto Highway 17 from southbound Highway 51. […]

Pascagoula man’s disappearance called ‘suspicious’

Kermit 0

Authorities in Pascagoula issued a “Be On The Lookout” (BOLO) for a local man Tuesday night calling his disappearance ‘suspicious.”

Lt. James Massey said 50-year-old Lee Alexander McGill left for work on Wednesday, Jan. 2 at 7 a.m., and hasn’t been seen or heard from since. Massey said he could not release the specifics of the case, but police believe foul play may be involved.

Massey said McGill is a self-employed carpenter and left his home, in the 2000 block of 13th Street, in his 2007 Silver Dodge Caravan. […]

Judge Ceola James sworn in

Kermit 1

Court of Appeals Judge Ceola James of Vicksburg took the oath of office as a Judge of the Mississippi Court of Appeals on Monday, Jan. 7.

Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. administered the oath at the Gartin Justice Building in Jackson.

James was elected to a four-year term in a special election in November 2012. She was elected from Court of Appeals District 2, Place 2. […]

Slim chance of Medicaid expansion in Mississippi

Kermit 0

Mississippi lawmakers can expect to be pulled in opposite directions this year on a big-dollar question of whether to expand Medicaid.

Gov. Phil Bryant and fellow Republicans who lead the House and Senate say they oppose expansion because they believe the state can’t afford to put millions more dollars into the federal-state health insurance program for the needy.

On the other side, health advocates say Mississippi – one of the poorest states in the nation – can’t afford to turn down billions of federal dollars that would come with expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, the federal health care law that President Barack Obama signed in 2010. Hospitals and other providers want lawmakers to consider the economic benefits that could come from an influx of money from Washington. […]

Wide load to move across Noxubee and Kemper counties

Kermit 0

The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) said a wide load will be moving through the state on Wednesday, Jan. 9.

A group of four (4) wide loads will begin their departure from Big Bee Valley in Noxubee County to the IGCC power plant in Kemper County. The loads will travel west along Highway 388 to Highway 45 and then travel south in the southbound lanes to Highway 16. From there the loads will move west along Highway 16 and will turn onto Highway 493 where it will continue to the power plant. […]