An Aberdeen alderwoman up for reelection will be watching the results of Tuesday’s runoff from inside a jail cell.
Lady Garth, 64, was arrested Sunday on two misdemeanor warrants of simple assault and disturbance of an election, per a report from WTVA. According to the local TV station, the Ward 2 alderwoman had initially been arrested on April 5 for allegedly assaulting a poll worker during the April 2 city election.
Monroe County Sheriff Kevin Crook said Garth was taken into custody after a week of deputies searching for her. She was found at a local church and was transported to jail after the service ended.
Garth will now spend five days in jail, not for the election worker case but for a sentencing that the Mississippi Supreme Court held up against her back in February. In December 2022, Garth was found guilty of disturbing the peace for her role in attempting to direct law enforcement to remove a sitting member of the Board of Aldermen during a meeting on Sept. 20, 2022. After an appeal by her attorney, the state’s highest court upheld the guilty verdict against Garth.
Garth is set to face off against Rhonda Moore in Tuesday’s Democratic runoff after falling by 12 votes during the primary election. No Republicans or third-party candidates qualified for the primary, meaning the winner will take office.
