A former Mississippi corrections officer is now on the other side of the bars following after allegedly using inmate labor to help operate a stolen scrap metal operation.
On Thursday, officers with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation took Randy Magers, 49, into custody. Magers, who was in charge of the inmate work program at the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, is facing multiple felony charges, including embezzlement and grand larceny.
Local detectives were tipped that Magers was allegedly involved in illegal activities. It was reported to law enforcement that the corrections officer was selling scrap metal to a local scrapyard on a near-daily basis between February of last year and early April of this year. Magers conducted 91 scrap sales and generated roughly $21,000 in revenue from the transactions.
These transactions, according to authorities, were not reported to county administrators. To make matters worse, Magers is said to have conducted the illegal operations while on duty and using a county vehicle. Video surveillance presented to police showed inmates, under Magers’ supervision, unloading stolen items at the scrapyard. The source of all the scrap metal and copper raised skepticism of the legitimacy of the officer’s operation.
Magers had been assigned to work at the old Mississippi Sheriff’s Association Boys Ranch on Motely Road, where he supervised inmates tasked with clearing brush and mowing to restore the property after the county took it over last spring. During an inspection of the property, detectives found that several structures, which had previously served as residential quarters when the boys’ ranch was operational, had been completely stripped of their copper electrical wiring.
The estimated damage to these structures is north of tens of thousands of dollars. Detectives reportedly discovered additional evidence on the property linking Magers and the inmates to the thefts.
Magers is housed in the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center with a $25,000 bond on each charge. More arrests are likely in this case. The findings will be presented to the district attorney’s office and then forwarded to the Lowndes County Grand Jury.
“Any person in a position of public service must be held to a higher standard. It’s very disappointing when a public servant compromises his integrity,” Lowndes County Sheriff Eddie Hawkins said. “We expect better from those who are entrusted with public responsibility.”
