Ripley Police Officer Faces Charges Of Burglary, Tampering With Evidence

JACKSON, Miss. (PRESS RELEASE) — Attorney General Jim Hood announced today that a Ripley police officer has been arrested and charged for business burglary and tampering with evidence.

Wesley Brent Garner, 40, of Ripley, was arrested yesterday following his indictment by a Tippah County grand jury for one count of business burglary and one count of tampering with evidence. Garner was booked into the Tippah County Jail with a bond set at $30,000 by Tippah County Circuit Court Judge Kelly Luther.

The indictment alleges that Garner intentionally broke into the offices of the Ripley police chief and the narcotics office in June to conceal or remove physical evidence, an envelope containing what he believed to be methamphetamine.

If convicted of the charges, he faces a total of nine years in prison and a $3,000 fine. A charge is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case was investigated by the Ripley Police Department with assistance from Investigator Roger Cribb of the Attorney General’s Public Integrity Division. Prosecution will be handled by Assistant Attorney General Stanley Alexander.