Pontotoc Man Indicted For Not Paying Child Support

 PRESS RELEASE

COPTANE

Jackson, Miss.- Joe Oscar Coptane, 35, of Pontotoc, has been arrested for failure to pay child support, announced Attorney General Jim Hood today.

Coptane was recently booked into the Lee County Jail following his indictment by a Lee County Grand Jury for two counts of failure to pay child support.

As a result of an investigation conducted by the Mississippi Attorney General’s Child Desertion Unit, Coptane is accused of the willful neglect or refusal to provide for the support and maintenance of his two minor children. He is alleged to owe approximately $28,000 in back child support.

If convicted, Coptane faces up to five years in prison and a $500 fine on each count. No court dates have been set at this time. As with all cases, a charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case will be prosecuted by Special Assistant Attorney General Kimberly Purdie of the Attorney General’s Child Desertion Unit.