Six criminal cases, including the theft of grain from a silo, will be presented to the Issaquena County grand jury beginning today.

It will be the first grand jury for presiding Circuit Judge M. James Chaney of Vicksburg, who was appointed by Gov. Haley Barbour this month to replace longtime Judge Frank Vollor, who retired from the bench May 31 to return to private practice.

District Attorney Ricky Smith said the grand jury is expected to review the evidence against Robert Hals, 42, of Anguilla, and Alton Lee, 49, of Rolling Fork, in the theft from a silo. They were arrested April 10 and charged with grand larceny. They are accused of backing an 18-wheeler tractor-trailer up to a silo at night and loading up about $15,000 worth of corn.

Hals has been in the Issaquena County Jail since his arrest. Lee has been in the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Rankin County.

The rest of the cases the grand jury will review involve inmates having cell phones in a correctional facility, Smith said. Jury selection began this morning.

Grand jurors hear evidence presented by law enforcement officers and decide if there is enough evidence for a criminal trial. If so, the jury issues an indictment and the defendant appears in court at a formal arraignment. If defendants have been free on bond they usually remain out of jail unless convicted by a jury or plead guilty.

This is the second and final grand jury session to convene in Issaquena County this year. The first was Jan. 5.

*

Contact Pamela Hitchins at phitchins@vicksburgpost.com