Former Hinds County Interim Sheriff and candidate indicted for soliciting bribes

Former Hinds County Interim Sheriff, and current candidate for the job, Marshand Crisler pleaded not guilty in federal court Thursday after a grand jury in Jackson returned an indictment charging him with soliciting bribes and providing ammunition to a convicted felon.

Crisler, 54, of Jackson, 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, according to court documents.

Crisler, who entered the courtroom in a blue tracksuit and handcuffs, was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge LaKeysha Greer Isaac in U.S. District Court in Jackson and issued a $10,000 bond. Greer Isaac indicated that a "confidential human source" had led to the indictment, and instructed Crisler not to communicate with that source as conditions of his bond. His next court date is 9 a.m. June 12 court before Senior Judge Tom S. Lee.

Crisler also allegedly 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, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"These actions are alleged to have taken place during Crisler’s previous unsuccessful campaign for Hinds County Sheriff in 2021," the press release states. "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."

Each of the two counts Crisler was indicted with carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Crisler has retained well-known local defense attorney John Colette, who appeared with him in court Thursday and presented the not-guilty plea.

Crisler ran against current sheriff Tyree Jones in 2021, after having been appointed months earlier to replace former Sheriff Lee Vance following his death. Jones ultimately defeated Crisler by about 20% of the vote. Crisler is again running against Jones, each this time seeking to serve the first full term, as the winner of the previous election finished out the remainder of Vance's final term.

Crisler was later appointed interim executive director of the Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center. He is still listed in that role on the juvenile detention center's website.

A longtime fixture of Jackson politics, Crisler served on the City Council from 2001 to 2009 and unsuccessfully ran for mayor and state Senate, among other offices.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Hinds County MS sheriff candidate indicted for soliciting bribes