OXFORD — Former Tallahatchie County Sheriff William L. Brewer Jr. pleaded guilty last Thursday to one of the five drug-related charges for which he was indicted by a federal grand jury and faces a Feb. 14 sentencing date in U.S. District Court.
The charge, attempting to extort a bribe under color of official right, carries maximum penalties of 20 years imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and a special assessment of $100.
During the 3 p.m. hearing Nov. 1 at the federal courthouse in Oxford, U.S. Attorney William C. Lamar presented to U.S. District Judge Michael P. Mills the details of a plea agreement hammered out between federal prosecutors and the defendant and his legal team.
The hearing lasted 25 minutes, after which Brewer was remanded back to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service, which has kept the ex-sheriff locked up since Oct. 5 due to an alleged violation of the conditions of his Aug. 14 pretrial release.
Under terms of the plea agreement, which was signed by all parties Sept. 11, federal prosecutors said they would not charge Brewer with any other offenses arising from or related to this specific crime and agreed to dismiss the remaining four counts of the indictment after his sentencing.
Brewer, 58, was initially arrested Aug. 10 by the FBI on a federal agent’s criminal complaint that alleged his involvement in narcotics trafficking, extortion and bribery offenses spanning some 15 years of his tenure as sheriff.
The longtime law enforcement officer allegedly conspired to profit from the theft and distribution of controlled substances, including methamphetamine, cocaine base (crack cocaine) and powder cocaine.
He was formally indicted Aug. 22 for one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and four counts of attempting to extort a bribe under color of official right, all felony offenses.
The ex-sheriff initially entered a plea of not guilty to all five of the charges against him. However, court documents revealed that the prosecution’s stockpile of evidence included potentially incriminating recordings of Brewer that were made with the assistance of an undercover operative.
The specific charge to which Brewer pleaded guilty dates to June 21, 2018, when he allegedly obtained from the FBI confidential human source approximately $6,500 to allow the distribution of methamphetamine in Tallahatchie County.
Brewer served as sheriff of Tallahatchie County from his appointment on Oct. 6, 1997, until Aug. 14, 2018, when he resigned only days after his arrest by federal agents.
