[5/28/04]Ronald Vaughn agreed to having his probation revoked Thursday and in doing so admitted driving under the influence of drugs when Warren County Deputy Sheriff Michael Hollingsworth was hit and severely injured Feb. 9.

“We got exactly what we wanted and that was to revoke him. We just did it by agreement instead of trial,” said District Attorney Gil Martin.

There was no testimony in a brief hearing after which Vaughn, 23, was returned to the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Vaughn had been in the Warren County Jail since March.

At the time of his arrest, Vaughn was on probation for a shooting into a dwelling conviction. In the agreement, Vaughn concedes the drug use and, in turn, Circuit Judge Isadore Patrick ruled that a violation of his probation revoked his probation.

Patrick delayed sentencing Vaughn on the probation violation, but could sentence him to serve up to two years, the time remaining on his original sentence of three years.

The trial on the charge of driving while under the influence of a controlled substance when he ran down the deputy is tentatively set for December. He was indicted on aggravated DUI, which carries a possible 25 years.

Mike Hollingsworth’s wife, Debbie, and his father, Jack Hollingsworth, were present for the hearing, but did not comment about the case. Mike Hollingsworth was in physical therapy at the time and could not be there.

He has not met with Vaughn or been present at any of the hearings to date. According to Jack Hollingsworth, who was Vaughn’s probation officer, his son had never met Vaughn before being injured.

Mike Hollingsworth, 38, was outside his patrol car, directing funeral traffic at the entrance to Green Acres Memorial Park on U.S. 80 when he was hit by a Buick sedan that then ran off the road. Vaughn was taken from the scene to River Region Medical Center, then released to authorities. Hollingsworth suffered head trauma and spent two weeks in a coma and six weeks in Jackson hospitals.

Debbie Hollingsworth said her husband goes to physical therapy three times per week and continues to have vision problems. He is also scheduled to have knee surgery in July.

Mike Hollingsworth has said that he is eager to return to work, but does not know when he will be physically ready.

Vaughn was also free on bond on an armed robbery charge when Hollingsworth was hit. A grand jury hearing that case no-billed that charge, indicating there was not enough information to prosecute.