Webster County Sheriff Arrested on Multiple Charges Being Held in Oxford Pending Hearing

By Alyssa Schnugg
News Editor
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

Sheriff Timothy Seth Mitchell is being held at the Lafayette County Detention Center pending a first-appearance hearing.

The sheriff of Webster County has been arrested on multiple felony charges, according to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.

Mitchell was remanded to the custody of the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department pending his initial appearance today at the Federal Courthouse in Oxford.

Timothy Seth Mitchell, 53, a resident of Eupora, was charged with two counts of embezzlement; two counts of trafficking in stolen firearms; one count of attempting sex and/or sexual acts with an inmate; one count of tampering with physical evidence; three counts of retaliation against a witness; one count of permitting possession and/or sale of controlled substance in jail; and two counts of furnishing an inmate with weapons, cell phone and narcotics.

Mitchell was serving his second term as sheriff at the time of his arrest.

If convicted, Mitchell faces a minimum of nine years and a maximum of one 152 years, along with fines up to $ 102,000, for the 12 felony counts.

The Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol, MHP SWAT, SOG, and Interdiction teams, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, Mississippi State Auditor’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and the 5th District Attorney’s Office participated in the investigation and resulting arrest.

Second Sheriff Arrested

Mitchell’s arrest is the second time a Mississippi sheriff has been arrested this year.

William Brewer

In August, William L. Brewer Jr, the sheriff of Tallahatchie County for more than 20 years, was charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance for 15 years and extortion and bribery.

On Nov. 1, Brewer pleaded guilty to one of the five drug-related charges. He will be sentenced on Feb. 14.