Kenneth Lester
A Coahoma County mayor is accused of embezzling city water payments and a police firearm.
Jonestown mayor Kenneth Lester was indicted by a Coahoma County grand jury on five counts of felony embezzlement. He faces up to 20 years in prison and up to $5,000 in fines on each count, according to a news release from the attorney general’s office.
The indictment alleges that between July 2017 and August 2018, Lester took money paid for water bills and water repairs and converted it for his own use, according to the statement. He is also alleged to have taken a city-owned handgun and pawned it for cash.
Jonestown is about 10 minutes northeast of Clarksdale with an estimated population of 1,226 in 2014. Lester was arrested by the Coahoma County Sheriff’s Department.