County employees indicted with charges against sheriff

Published 10:48 pm Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Two Mississippi sheriff’s employees have been indicted in connection with charges against the county’s sheriff.

News agencies report that former Webster County sheriff’s investigator Landon Griffin and jailer Santana Monshea Townshend were arrested Monday.

Webster County Sheriff Tim Mitchell was indicted in December on a dozen felony charges accusing him of stealing guns and drugs, seeking sex with inmates and threatening employees if they told about the crimes. He’s free on $400,000 bail.

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District Attorney Doug Evans says Griffin was indicted on two counts each of embezzlement and trafficking firearms.

Townsend is charged with two counts of sexual activity with an inmate, furnishing contraband to an inmate, and sale and possession of a controlled substance.

Griffin and Townshend are free on bail. It’s unclear if either has a lawyer.