Verona fires officer after second DUI [Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo]

Apr. 13—VERONA — A Verona police officer has been fired after being charged with driving drunk for the second time.

The Verona Board of Aldermen voted to fire officer Jonathan Boyd during a special-called meeting on Tuesday night. Verona Police Chief Marsenio Nunn called the meeting and made the recommendation to terminate Boyd after serving the city for 18 months. The board agreed, voting unanimously.

Boyd, 32, of Saltillo, was arrested Friday night and charged with driving under the influence-second offense, leaving the scene of an accident, driving with a suspended license, expired driver's license and no proof of insurance — all while wearing his Verona Police Department uniform.

Boyd had been driving a Verona patrol car since at least last summer with an expired license. The more serious allegation of driving with a license suspended because of an October 2020 DUI has been questioned by Nunn and Boyd's attorney both.

"His license showed suspended but I don't know why," Nunn said.

Last summer, Boyd pleaded no contest to the first DUI charge in Lee County Justice Court and immediately appealed the case to Lee County Court. That appeal is scheduled to be heard by Lee County Court Judge James Moore on June 15.

A guilty plea does carry an automatic suspension of the license. But since the case was appealed, any penalties should have been stayed until after the appeals process concluded. It could be that justice court sent in the guilty plea to the state but forgot to notify them of the appeal.

Boyd's troubles with drinking and driving only came to public light after he sideswiped another car on Highway 45 on Friday night. He and the other driver agreed to go to a nearby convenience store to swap information. When Boyd did not, the other driver called 911.

Because it involved a police officer who was off-duty but in uniform, Saltillo police requested the Mississippi Highway Patrol take over the case as an outside agency.

The first DUI charge was the result of a one-car accident on Oct. 1, 2020, inside the Saltillo city limits. At the time of the wreck, Boyd was employed by the Saltillo Police Department and driving his personal vehicle.

Four days after that wreck, Boyd ended his six-year-tenure with the Saltillo department by resigning Oct. 5, 2020.

Boyd was hired by the Verona Police Department shortly after he left Saltillo. At that time, Boyd passed a background check that showed his driver's license was valid and no pending DUI charges of convictions on his record, Nunn said.

Once an officer is hired, there is usually no reason to go back to run a second background check.

"I understand the public's concern of this matter, and I can only take responsibility for the Verona Police Department," Nunn said. "I will be sitting down and going over our policy and making the necessary changes that could help prevent an incident like this from happening again in the future."

Nunn added that police officers are bound by the same laws as citizens.

"We as law enforcement officers are no different from anyone else and should be held accountable to the same law as anyone else," he said.

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