PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) - Jackson County sheriff’s Lt. Ken McClenic has been indicted on a felony charge of perjury.
The local grand jury indictment was announced Thursday by the attorney general’s office and the sheriff’s department.
The indictment alleges that McClenic’s July testimony before a grand jury — which led to charges against former Sheriff Mike Byrd - conflicted with subsequent testimony.
McClenic was released Thursday on $5,000 bail. McClenic, a sheriff’s department employee since 1985, was fired immediately, Sheriff Charles Britt said, for violating departmental and civil service policies.
Records show McClenic told the grand jury Byrd ordered him to sign an affidavit for the arrest of Robert McKee on a charge of murder though McClenic told the grand jury he did not believe McKee had committed the crime.
In September, during a hearing in an unrelated case challenging McClenic’s credibility as a witness, McClenic backed off his testimony, saying he had “refreshed” his memory about what had occurred.
After McClenic changed his testimony, Circuit Judge Robert Krebs ordered all of McClenic’s grand jury testimony turned over to the attorney general’s office to investigate.
“I remind everybody he, like any other criminal defendant, is presumed innocent under our constitution until a jury decides otherwise,” Jackson County District Attorney Tony Lawrence said Thursday.
Lawrence wouldn’t discuss the facts surrounding this case, but did say it was another sad day for law enforcement in Jackson County.
“But it also shows that the citizens of this county believe that no one is above the law. If you violate the law, you are going to be held accountable,” Lawrence said.
McClenic’s attorney, Calvin Taylor, said he and McClenic knew the indictment was coming for “a while.”
“He is actually doing well,” Taylor said Thursday. “He’s got his family around him. You know, I think he’s ready to confront this and tackle it. I think he’s glad it’s here. I hope people keep an open mind . and wait until it all comes out. Give him a fair shake. We are going to defend him and the truth will come out. I think Ken is going to be fine.”
A grand jury indicted Byrd, a four-term sheriff, in August on 29 felony charges and two misdemeanor offenses. In a plea deal with the state, he pleaded guilty to an amended charge of intimidating a witness in connection with a July 2012 shooting at the office of the Narcotics Task Force.
Byrd has also pleaded guilty to federal felony charge of knowingly engaging in misleading conduct toward another person with intent to prevent the communication to a federal law enforcement officer. As part of that plea, he admitted to twice kicking a man in the groin who had stolen a Jackson County patrol car.
Byrd is scheduled for sentencing in both the state and federal case in March.
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