JACKSON, Miss. – Jackson County Sheriff Mike Byrd has apparently decided to take a plea deal in a federal witness tampering case.
In an Alabama federal court, Byrd admitted to trying to persuade one of his deputies not to rat him out for kicking a handcuffed prisoner after a car chase last summer. The case is in Alabama because that’s where the chase ended. Prosecutors are recommending Byrd be sentenced to six month’s house arrest and six months’ probation.
But the sheriff could still do time in jail. He is still facing a 31-count indictment in Mississippi, charging him with embezzlement, perjury, witness tampering, fraud and extortion.
