Former corrections chief heads to jail for burglary

Published 8:52 am Wednesday, February 21, 2018

FLOWOOD (AP) — A former Mississippi Department of Corrections commissioner has been sentenced to seven years in prison for burglary of an uninhabited dwelling.

The Clarion-Ledger reports Chris Epps pleaded guilty Tuesday. Epps was arrested last November for stealing light fixtures from his old home, which was forfeited to the government as a part of a guilty plea to separate bribery charges.

District Attorney Michael Guest says Epps’ sentence will run concurrently with the time he’s serving. Epps is serving almost 20 years for one of the state’s largest and longest criminal conspiracies.

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A 2014 federal indictment accused Epps of taking at least $1.4 million in bribes and kickbacks to influence more than $800 million worth of prison contracts. He pleaded guilty in 2015 to bribery and filing a false tax return.