The Associated Press
JACKSON - Larry Presley has been elected Lee County sheriff - a post his brother held before being gunned down in July by a suspected kidnapper.
Presley, a former Tupelo police officer, received 5,135 votes, or 53 percent, in a runoff Tuesday with Lee County's Chief Deputy Steve Brooks. Brooks garnered 4,457 votes, or 47 percent, in unofficial returns.
Presley is the brother of Harold Ray Presley, who was shot to death by Billy Ray Stone of Baldwyn on July 6 after sheriff deputies cornered Stone in a tool shed near Saltillo. Stone was also killed.
Sheriff's Investigator Jim Johnson has been interim sheriff since July. He did not seek election to the job.
Voters in five Mississippi counties went to the polls Tuesday to elect sheriffs.
In Benton County, problems with voting machines delayed the outcome of the sheriff race between A.A. McMullen and Steven Thompson.
McMullen and Thompson were vying to succeed the late Sheriff Jerry Moffitt, who died of cancer in February. Interim sheriff Peggy Moffitt, the widow of the sheriff, did not run for the post.
The circuit court office in Benton County said late Tuesday only 3 of 11 precincts had reported.
In Simpson County, Interim Sheriff J.C. Dillon defeated Doyle King in a runoff. Dillon received 3,245 votes, or 61 percent, to King's 2,054, or 39 percent.
Dillon was appointed interim after Sheriff E.C. Mullins, 60, died of a heart attack in March during a struggle with a man he was arresting.
In Montgomery County, William Thornburg defeated Jerry Bridges in a runoff for sheriff. Thornburg received 2,191 votes, or 63 percent, to Bridges' 1,271 votes, or 37 percent. Thornburg succeeds Kenneth Campbell, who died of cancer in August. His widow, Kayle Campbell, has been interim sheriff but did not run.
In Winston County, Randy Thomas defeated Walter Coburn in a battle to determine who will replace Sheriff Mike Estes, who died this year.
With all the precincts reporting, Thomas had 3,895 votes to Coburn's 3,073.
Estes left office in April 2000 on a medical leave and never returned. Johnny Holdiness, who trailed the field in the first election, has been interim sheriff.
Copyright 2001, Associated Press. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
