The former trooper was sentenced to five years with five suspended
A former Scott County Deputy and former Mississippi Highway Patrolman, has pleaded guilty to extortion in a Leake County courtroom.
Michael B. Holifield pleaded guilty to three counts of extortion Friday. He was sentenced to five years in prison, with five suspended and three years house arrest for the first count, and counts 2 and 3 were nolle pros (not prosecuted).
According to the Petition to Plead Guilty, filed Monday in the Scott County Circuit Clerk’s office, Holifield acknowledged having been served a copy of the indictment charging him with committing the crime of Extortion (3cts) on the 15th, 18th, and 19th days of April 2021, when it was alleged that he “attempted to obtain money from Alison Crapps, Tax Assessor Scott County, by threatening to reveal private information if not paid $40,000.”
In the petition, Holifield further states, “I was alone. I tried to get Alison Crapps to pay me $40,000, or I would tell personal things about her.”
The original indictment read, “On or about April 15, 2021, in Scott County, Mississippi, the defendant Michael B. Holifield did purposely attempt to obtain property of another or any reward, favor, or advantage of any kind by threatening to inflict bodily injury on any person or by committing or threatening to commit any other criminal offense, violation of civil statute, or the public or private revelation of information not previously in the public domain for the purpose of humiliating or embarrassing the other person, without regard to whether the revelation otherwise constitutes a violation of a specific statute, all in violation of Section 97-3-82 of the Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended, against the peace and dignity of the State of Mississippi.
“The conduct described in each of these counts, Count 1 - Count 3 is based on two or more acts and transactions connected together and constituting parts of a common scheme and plan, and all acts are against the peace and dignity of the state of Mississippi.”
The case was being handled by the Mississippi Attorney General’s office. Holifield initally appeared at the February term of Circuit Court in Scott County.
According to MHP’s Troop H, Trooper Holifield joined the Meridian District of MHP in 2019.
Prior to joining the Mississippi Highway Patrol, Holifield served as a Scott County Deputy Sheriff.
