Former Sheriff Pleads Guilty To Embezzlement
WATER VALLEY – Former Yalobusha County Sheriff Lance Humphreys pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement during a plea hearing in circuit court on Sept. 8. Humphreys was indicted in June, 2021, for unlawfully embezzling $4,829 from the county’s inmate canteen fund, funds intended to provide educational and recreational resources to county inmates.
The transfers from the canteen fund to Humphreys’ personal bank account were made in 2018 and reported by a Yalobusha County sheriff’s office employee who was gathering documents to be audited, according to an earlier press release from State Auditor Shad White.
The court docket showed the case had been set for trial on Sept. 26, with Sept. 8 the date for a potential plea. Sentencing is scheduled December 14 at 9 a.m. at the Panola County courthouse in Batesville.
Humphreys is represented by M. Kevin Horan. Special Assistant Attorney General Michael Ward is prosecutor. Circuit Judge Smith Murphey presided over the hearing.
Humphreys served as the county’s sheriff from 2006 until 2019.
