Man Pleads Guilty to Assaulting Choctaw Police Officer

PHILADELPHIA, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi man faces up to eight years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine after pleading guilty to one count of assaulting a Choctaw tribal police officer.

The U.S. attorney’s office says Tuesday that 29-year-old Jason Gooden of Philadelphia entered his plea Monday before U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III.

Gooden’s sentencing is set for Jan. 28.

U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis says that on April 4, Gooden was asked to leave the Choctaw-run Silver Star Casino in Neshoba County because he appeared to be drunk. When Gooden didn’t leave, Choctaw Police Department officers were called to assist a security guard, and Gooden grabbed an officer and threw him to the ground.

The case was handled in federal court because tribal police are considered to be federal officers.