(Photo from Forrest County Jail)
- Court documents show that Warnock was convicted of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit bribery.
U.S. District Judge Kristi Johnson has sentenced former Canton Municipal Utilities engineer Rudy Warnock to 12 years in prison for charges related to bribery and wire fraud.
Warnock was indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2021 alleging at the time that Warnock directed cash payments in the thousands of dollars as well as event tickets to concerts and football games to former Canton Aldermen Andrew Grant and Eric Gilkey and Canton Municipal Utilities Commissioner Cleve Anderson in exchange for lucrative government contracts.
The FBI investigated the case.
Grant, Gilkey and Anderson also faced indictment for the bribery scheme. Grant and Gilkey pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery while Anderson was convicted of similar charges in July.
Anderson is said to have had a hand in Warnock’s hiring as the Canton Municipal Utilities engineer. Warnock worked at the utility from 2016 to 2017.
Court documents show that Warnock was convicted of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit bribery.
Upon his release from serving his 144 sentence, Warnock has been ordered to pay a $100,000 fine along with a $100 assessment per count totaling $400. He will also serve three years of supervised probation.
While Warnock was out on bond earlier this year, he attempted to commit suicide by cutting his wrists and neck. He wrecked his vehicle on Interstate 20 in Rankin County in the process and was unconscious. A passerby helped Warnock out of the vehicle and authorities transported him to UMMC for medical care. The court then revoked his bond saying that he posed “a risk of flight” and posed “a risk of danger to others and to the community.”
Warnock is being held at the Forrest County Jail.
