Supes vote to abandon Vaughn case

The Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors voted 3-1 to not appoint a new special prosecutor to the ongoing DUI case against Starkville Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn Monday night.
The decision to not appoint a special prosecutor means when pending motions are heard in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court, only the defense will have representation, according to Board Attorney Jack Brown.
“We’ll see what the judge does with only one attorney in this case,” Brown said.
The board originally appointed Eupora attorney George Mitchell as the special prosecutor in the case against Vaughn. Mitchell appealed the directed verdict of not guilty issued by Justice Court Judge Tony Boykin last September before Governor Phil Bryant appointed Mitchell as a Circuit Court Judge in the Fifth Judicial District. Because he was appointed as a judge, Mitchell recused himself from the Vaughn appeal, citing a recommendation from the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance. Circuit Court Judge Lee Coleman then issued an order granting the Board of Supervisors 60 days to appoint another special prosecutor. At the board’s March 7 meeting, a vote to appoint a special prosecutor in the case ended in a 2-2 tie.
A hearing has not been scheduled in Circuit Court for motions filed by Vaughn’s attorney, Ward 6 Alderman Roy A. Perkins. Perkins is seeking a dismissal of Mitchell’s appeal because it represents double jeopardy and he is seeking over $2,000 in attorney’s fees from Oktibbeha County from defending the appeal of the directed verdict of not guilty.
Both District 3 Supervisor Marvell Howard and District 5 Supervisor Joe Williams said they are confident Perkins will drop the motion seeking attorney’s fees from the county.
“Due to the character behind a gentleman like Alderman Perkins, I feel he would withdraw the motion to have the county pay $2,000,” Williams said.
District 4 Supervisor Bricklee Miller was the lone supervisor to vote against Howard’s motion to not appoint a special prosecutor. District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer and Williams both voted in favor of Howard’s motion. District 1 Supervisor John Montgomery was absent from Monday’s meeting.
Howard abstained from voting on the matter at the March 7 meeting, but said after consulting with Brown, he was assured that Mitchell was not legally obligated to file an appeal. Howard said Mitchell should have come to the board for approval before filing an appeal of a not guilty verdict.
“I wanted to gather more information on this,” Howard said. “For me, everything hinged on whether the prosecutor was legally required to file an appeal.”
After the vote to not appoint a special prosecutor, Williams sought clarity that nobody serve as a special prosecutor in the case, including Brown.
On March 7, Brown recommended appointing another special prosecutor to the case.
“In my opinion, it would have been the best thing for this board to do,” Brown said Monday.
In other business, the board appointed Howard and Miller to the Golden Triangle Development LINK’s industrial park steering committee, which has been tasked with choosing the best location and plan for a new industrial park in Oktibbeha County.
The board also voted to withdraw a Community Development Block Grant application submitted on behalf of DPM Fragrance, which has opted to hold off on building a new plant in Cornerstone Industrial Park. DPM was bought buy a private equity firm after announcing plans for the new building. The board also voted to de-obligate Appalachian Regional Commission funds that were awarded to provide infrastructure for the project.
Supervisors took no action on a proposal from Oxford-based planning firm Slaughter & Associates to develop a county zoning ordinance at an estimated cost of $10,000 to $15,000. The board contracted with Slaughter & Associates to develop subdivision regulations that were intended to curb infrastructure issues caused by large-scale housing developments last year. After the draft regulations were submitted, board members and County Engineer Clyde Pritchard raised many issues with the draft. The board later opted to abandon Slaughter’s draft and commissioned Pritchard to draft guidelines they felt were more suitable the county’s needs.