No grand jury indictment for Pecanty

Published 12:00 am Thursday, December 14, 2000

A man accused of killing his wife by injecting her with prescription medications was not indicted by the Adams County grand jury for the charge. The grand jury returned a &uot;no bill&uot; for James &uot;Jamie&uot; Pecanty, said District Attorney Ronnie Harper.

Without new evidence, he will not face criminal action for the March death of Margaret Merrylon Baker Pecanty, 28, said District Attorney Ronnie Harper.

Harper could not comment on the grand jury’s decision except to say prosecutors explained to the jurors all laws applicable to the case, along with other pertinent details.

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&uot;We presented all the evidence that was available to them and we went over the law in detail (with) them,&uot; Harper said.

Pecanty, who is from Monterey, La., had originally been charged with murder, but Adams County Justice Court Judge Charles Vess reduced the charge to manslaughter before sending it to the grand jury.

Vess said he did not believe malice or forethought was involved.

Sheriff’s deputies believed Pecanty diluted and heated the drugs Seconal, Oxycodone and Ritalin and injected himself, his wife and two other people at their Natchez apartment.

During testimony presented at Pecanty’s public hearing, one of the witnesses said injecting drugs was a common activity for the group.

Sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene March 9 after Pecanty called to report a possible drug overdose.