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TALLAHATCHIE COUNTY, Miss. — The Sheriff of Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, has been arrested on federal narcotics trafficking and extortion charges, federal prosecutors for the Northern District of Mississippi announced Friday.

William Brewer, 58, of Oakland, Mississippi, was charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, and extortion and bribery under color of official right in violation of the Hobbs Act, set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 1951.

If convicted, Brewer faces up to 20 years in prison on each count, along with fines ranging from $250,000 to $1,000,000 per count.

Brewer appeared Friday before United States Magistrate Judge Roy Percy. He was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending preliminary and detention hearings which are set for 10 a.m. Aug. 14 in the Federal Courthouse in Oxford, Mississippi.

Tallahatchie County is just south of Batesville and Clarksdale.

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