Pike County Sheriff James Brumfield said he will not run for a second term in office next year.
“No sir, I am not running for re-election,” Brumfield said at the McComb Rotary Club’s weekly meeting, where he was the guest speaker. “I’m 70 years old; I think it’s time for me to retire.”
Brumfield, elected in 2019 after a lengthy career managing the McComb Coca-Cola Bottling Co., said he wants to spend more time with his family, especially his grandchildren. He added that if he won a second term, he would be in his mid-70s by the time it ended.
Chief Deputy Brad Bellipanni, who at the Rotary meeting with Brumfield, confirmed afterward that he plans to run for sheriff in 2023.
“You have a great sheriff’s office, you have great deputies,” Brumfield said. Referring to Bellipanni, the sheriff added, “And I am just going to say for one, I am going to support him.”
At least two other people are reported to be seriously considering running for sheriff: former Magnolia Police Chief Ray Reynolds, who launched his campaign earlier this year, and Coroner Wally Jones, who announced his intentions to seek the office Wednesday afternoon.
Qualifying for the position doesn’t begin until January.
Brumfield said running for sheriff three years ago was a difficult task, and being the sheriff was even more challenging.
In his remarks to the Rotary Club he discussed the rising rate of homicides in the county over the last three years; said his deputies are underpaid at $35,000 a year; said Pike County needs a new jail that can hold 300 people; and warned that some of the medical marijuana sold to patients will make its way into the illegal drug trade.
Brumfield said there were four homicides in Pike County in 2020, and three have been solved. Three of the five homicides in 2021 have been solved.
This year, he added, there have been seven homicides, with four solved.
He and Bellipanni blamed the rising numbers of killings on drugs. “Ninety percent of the crimes we face are due to drug use,” Brumfield said.
Bellipanni added, “What we are seeing now is not the two or three major gangs we all grew up with — the Crips, Bloods and the Vice Lords. Small groups have splintered off and think they can run their own operations. They are causing problems for these older guys. There is infighting over territory, money and drugs.”
Regarding the pay of deputies, Brumfield said both the McComb Police Department and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department pay about $1,000 more a year than Pike County does. The Highway Patrol’s starting pay for state troopers is $50,000 a year.
“I would urge you, pay your law enforcement,” he said. “First responders, they need to be paid, too.
“This is not a knock on anybody,” he added. “Our board of supervisors has treated us well. But we have to pay our law enforcement personnel.”
As for the county jail, Brumfield said it has been worn down over 30 years by daily use and overcrowding. It was built to hold 145-150 people but now averages 195. On Wednesday it was holding 175 people.
“Pike County needs a new jail,” he said. “It’s going to cost a lot of money. But it’s got to be done.”
He did not estimate the cost of building a jail, which most likely would be paid for by a property tax increase.
On medical marijuana, Brumfield observed that a majority of voters who approved a referendum had their opinion on the product, and he had his. So far, he said, the state has licensed 138 dispensaries and 47 cultivators.
“It’s not going to be OK for law enforcement, that I can tell you,” he predicted. “Marijuana is a cash cow to those people dealing in drugs. It’s still the one that generates the most cash.”
He believes some people who get approved to buy medical marijuana will be tempted to resell it.
“Some of that marijuana is going to be sold illegally, I can guarantee you that,” he said.
