Lafayette CountyMike Tonos 5/18/09

Prosecutors seek leniency for men accused of thefts

n OXFORD - Federal prosecutors asked a U.S. district judge Monday to consider leniency for two men who cooperated in a case about a Monroe County theft ring.

In two motions filed to Judge W. Allen Pepper, U.S. Attorney Robert Norman said Roy E. Hazzle Jr. and Tracey Fields pleaded guilty early on in the case and agreed to testify, if called to do so.

They were accused in a sealed indictment Oct. 23, 2008, with former Aberdeen police officer Javan Lameck Shumpert. The government said they violated interstate commerce laws by transporting stolen goods across a state line.

Fields and Hazzle pleaded guilty Nov. 20. Shumpert did the same, but not until April 9.

All three were charged for their involvement in a theft ring at Holley Performance. Fields was a former police officer and Hazzle a fireman.

They each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to transfer stolen goods in interstate commerce. The maximum sentence is five years in prison.

Former Ole Miss student charged with sexual battery

n OXFORD - Lafayette County Sheriff's officers have arrested a former University of Mississippi student after his recent indictment on four counts of sexual battery.

John W. Rippy Jr., in his mid-20s, is being held without bond at the Lafayette County Detention Center.

A Lafayette County grand jury accused him of sexual acts on the Ole Miss campus from January 2004 to December 2006 with a boy who was 12 years old when the alleged acts began.

The case was investigated by the University Police Department after child pornography allegedly was discovered on Rippy's computer and the juvenile claimed to a counselor that Rippy had abused him.

Each of the charges carries with it the possibility of 30 years in prison.

The charges are not Rippy's first. In March, he pleaded guilty to a federal charge of possession of child pornography.

Sentencing has not yet occurred, but he faces as much as 30 years in federal prison and $250,000 fine for the crime.

Lee County

Documentary wins top award at Tupelo festival

n TUPELO - "Who Does She Think She Is?" claimed the Ron Tibbett Award for overall quality during the 2009 Tupelo Film Festival, which ended Saturday.

The movie by Pamela Boll also took first prize in the documentary category. Other winners include:

* Documentary - "Mississippi Drug War Blues," Paul Fine, second.

* Feature - "Pants on Fire," Colin Campbell, first; "The Twenty," Chopper Bernet, second.

* Short - "Interpretation," Lin Oeding, first; "Silent Treatment," Jonathan Rothell, second.

* Music video - "You're Not Listening," Cherlyn Lytle and Padraic Culham.

* Made in Mississippi - "M for Mississippi," Damien Blaylock, Jeff Konkel and Roger Stolle.

* Animation - "The Cave," Timothy Schultz.

* Student - "The Last Page," Kevin Acevedo

* Young filmmaker - "Treasure Diversity," Drew Goldsmith.

* Mississippi high school - "Paint amp& Blur," Brock Hanson, Starkville High School.

Hinds CountyMike Tonos 5/18/09

MPB executive director Antoon retiring in August

n JACKSON - The board of directors for Mississippi Public Broadcasting has started searching for a new executive director for the statewide network of radio and television stations.

The current director, Marie Antoon, says she is retiring at the end of August.

Antoon is the first woman to lead Mississippi's educational television and public radio networks. She succeeded Larry Miller in February 2002 after serving as interim director of MPB for six months.

During her tenure, Antoon has overseen the expansion of news coverage and public affairs programming at MPB Radio.

In a news release Monday, Antoon said she is proud of MPB's work with "Between the Lions," a preschool reading program.

Swine flu case confirmed in Forrest County man

n JACKSON - A fourth case of swine flu has been confirmed in Mississippi.

The Mississippi State Department of Health says the latest case is from a young adult male in Forrest County, who has fully recovered.

The department announced the first three cases this past Friday, all in coastal Harrison County. Those cases were in woman, man and child under the age of 1. Officials said all three people have fully recovered. They were unrelated and lived in different households.

The state health officer, Dr. Ed Thompson, said in a news release Monday that Mississippi is likely to see more cases of swine flu. He said the strain "appears to be clinically similar to seasonal flu."

Jackson County

Four boaters found, one still missing on Coast

n OCEAN SPRINGS - Four of five people missing during a boat outing Sunday have been rescued while the search continues for a fifth.

Officials haven't released the names of those found Monday in the water near Ship Island. They were taken to a Gulfport hospital for medical checkups.

Lt. Steven Futral with the Ocean Springs Police Department says officers Stephen Bond and Michael Green and reserve officer Jonathan Navas and Navas' wife, Whitney, left for Horn Island along with Green's girlfriend, Becky Welch, about 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

Daily Journal, wire reports