Former Jones County Beat 5 Supervisor Jerome Wyatt pleaded guilty Monday to one charge of embezzlement. Wyatt had faced four counts from the State of Mississippi, but three of the counts were dismissed as part of his plea to count one of the indictment.
Wyatt, 72, was then sentenced by Circuit Judge Dal Williamson to 10 years with the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with all the time suspended but with five years of supervised probation. The judge also mandated that Wyatt participate in the Court’s Community Service Program, and the former supervisor incurred approximately $7,000 in total court-related costs and restitution.
“This plea should send a message to elected officials and others around the state that no one has the right to steal taxpayer money,” said State Auditor Shad White. “I want to thank investigators in the Auditor’s Office for their work in proving this case and making the arrest, and I want to thank the prosecutors in District Attorney Buckley’s office and DA Buckley for their work in obtaining this felony plea.”
The Mississippi Office of the State Auditor has already recovered the full amount of the demand issued to Wyatt when he was arrested and returned it to Jones County taxpayers. Wyatt will not be eligible to hold any future public office after this felony conviction.
The former Jones County Board of Supervisors president was first arrested by State Auditor agents for embezzlement and fraud back in October 2018. He was later indicted by a grand jury assembled by District Attorney Anthony J. Buckley.
In her explanation of the State’s evidence Monday afternoon in the Ellisville courtroom, Assistant District Attorney Kristen Martin said that the State was prepared to show that Wyatt embezzled money from The Gentlemen’s Club, a youth mentoring program that he created within the Laurel School District.
The intent of the Gentlemen’s Club was to provide mentoring for young at-risk men and to also fund field trips, blazers for members, and incentives for students to maintain high grade point averages. The club maintains an expense account composed of public funds at the Laurel School District to pay for these items. The amount Wyatt was accused of embezzling totaled $2,819.07. His wrong-doing was uncovered during a financial statement audit by State Auditor agents back in 2015-2017, added Martin. The agents discovered that Wyatt sought and received personal reimbursement for certain Gentlemen Club expenditures from both the school district and Jones County.
Wyatt also embezzled public money by taking cash when he directed a county-owned vehicle to a metal scrap yard outside Jones County.
Wyatt chose to not address the court Monday, but his attorney, Tom Fortner, did.
“I do not believe Mr. Wyatt was intentionally scheming to defraud Jones County of money. I think some of it may have been carelessness,” stated Fortner. “I think this is a good man. I think he deserves some consideration for his history of service (to Jones County). I would hope the court would not impose on him a more onerous burden than he deserves.”
Williamson then commented that Wyatt has been a long-time friend of his and had produced a long and distinguished career.
“He’s done a lot of good for the people of Laurel and Jones County, and he brought a high level of professionalism to the supervisors’ office,” said the judge. “It’s sad now to have this blemish on his career of public service.”
The judge noted that it is his responsibility to treat all defendants equally and fairly, and he said that the sentence recommended by the District Attorney’s Office was comparable to the sentence recommendations for other cases with similar circumstances as Wyatt.
“There is no reason for him to be treated more harshly than others in similar cases,” concluded the judge as he handed down the verdict of the court.