East Carroll Parish Sheriff Sentenced for Hunting with Convicted Felon

MONROE, La. (AP) — The former sheriff of East Carroll Parish has been sentenced to three years of probation for hunting with a convicted felon who was sentenced prior to 2014 and barred from possessing a firearm, U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley said.

U.S. District Judge Robert G. James sentenced 52-year-old Mark Wayne Shumate, of Lake Providence, on Monday for one count of aiding and abetting a felon in the possession of a firearm.

According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, Shumate and the convicted felon went hunting on Jan. 8. Finley says Shumate had full knowledge that the person accompanying him was barred from possessing and firing a firearm.

Shumate, who was elected sheriff of East Carroll Parish in 2000, was defeated by Wydette Williams in 2012.