Former Hinds County Interim Sheriff indicted

Marshand Crisler, a candidate for Sheriff once again, now faces federal charges related to soliciting bribes and providing ammunition to a convicted felon.

On Thursday, U.S. Attorney Darren La Marca announced that former Hinds County Interim Sheriff and current candidate for the same office, Marshand Crisler, has been indicted on federal charges.

Crisler will make his initial court appearance today at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge LaKeysha Greer Isaac in U.S. District Court in Jackson.

Unsealed today, the indictment charges Crisler with theft or bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds and the sale or disposal of ammunition to a convicted felon.

In a release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi, court documents show that Crisler is charged with having solicited and accepted thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for agreeing to pass information concerning criminal investigations to the person who paid the bribes. He allegedly also agreed to protect a jailed family member of that person and agreed to award employment with the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office to that person. 

“These actions are alleged to have taken place during Crisler’s previous unsuccessful campaign for Hinds County Sheriff in 2021,” the U.S. Attorney notes. “The indictment also alleges that Crisler gave ammunition to a person he knew to be a convicted felon. It is against federal law for a public official to solicit or accept bribes. It is also against federal law to provide firearm ammunition to a known convicted felon.”

Crisler was the interim Sheriff of the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office, having been appointed by the Hinds County Board of Supervisors from August 2021 to December 2021. According to the indictment, Crisler was appointed as the Executive Director of the Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center location in Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi in January 2022.

“Marshand Crisler accepted certain monetary payments to support his campaign to be elected Sheriff of the HCSO, but did not report those payments as campaign contributions as required by Mississippi Code Annotated Section 23-15-807,” the indictment states. “After Marshand Crisler lost the election for the position of Sheriff of the HCSO, he continued to make promises of reward to CHS1, in the form of an expungement of one or more felony convictions, to CHS1 when he knew CHS1 to be a convicted felon, and made promises to CHS1 of employment at the Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center.”

These actions are alleged to have taken place during Crisler’s previous unsuccessful campaign for Hinds County Sheriff in 2021.

If convicted, Crisler faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison as to each of the two counts in the indictment.

UPDATE: Marshand Crisler pleaded not guilty to both counts in the indictment and his trial is set for 9 a.m. on June 12th.