STARKVILLE — The son of a former Starkville Board of Aldermen member was sentenced today in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court for a drug violation that dates back more than two years.
Michael Self, son of former Ward 7 Alderwoman Janette Self, pleaded guilty Monday to the sale or transfer of cocaine.
He was sentenced to 15 years in the Mississippi Department of Corrections system, plus five years of post-release supervision and a $5,000 fine. Self also will take part in a long-term drug and alcohol rehabilitation program while in prison.
He faced a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in the Mississippi Department of Corrections system and a $5,000 to $1 million fine, Judge Lee Howard said Monday.
The charges against Self, 51, stem from an incident on June 2, 2007, when he met with a confidential informant in the area of the Brooksville Gardens housing complex, Assistant District Attorney Charlie Hedgepeth said. The informant was working with the Starkville Police Department at the time, Hedgepeth said.
The informant gave Self $40, then Self left the area and returned with .37 grams of cocaine, Hedgepeth said. Unbeknownst to Self, the informant was wearing a hidden camera, which recorded the entire transaction. Self was arrested shortly thereafter.
Monday wasn”t the first time Self has been in trouble with the law. He has one prior conviction for forgery and another for the sale or transfer of a controlled substance.
Judge Howard on Monday warned Self he would be drug tested this morning before sentencing and advised him not to show up with any narcotics in his system.
“It might affect what sentence you get,” Howard said.
Janette Self, who lost in her bid for re-election this spring to Henry Vaughn Sr., had no comment when contacted Monday evening.
In other court business, a Massachusetts man was sentenced to a combined two years in the MDOC system for selling adderall and stanozolol, a steroid, over a month-long period in 2007.
Brian Austin Jr., 28, of Stoneham, Mass., pleaded guilty in October 2008, but was sentenced Monday to five years for selling 10 adderall pills and five years for selling 16 ml of liquid stanozolol. Judge Howard suspended all but one year for each sentence, plus gave Austin a $5,000 fine and five years of post-release supervision.
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