Ex-law enforcement officer sentenced, cuts throat
COLUMBIA – A former Pine Belt law enforcement officer, sentenced to 60 years in prison this morning, cut his throat after being transported to the Mississippi Department of Corrections facility in Rankin County.
Pearl River County Sheriff David Allison said Averal Dan "Junior" Burnett Jr. was found slumped in the back seat of a transport vehicle covered in his own blood after arriving for transfer and booking at the Central Mississippi Regional Correctional Facility about 11 a.m. today.
"They were delivering him to the Rankin County facility and had got to the gate to enter the facility," Allison said. "At that point, they have to exit the vehicle and go and secure their weapons before they can proceed into the building with the inmate.
"When they came back, he was slumped over with blood on him, and when they asked him what had happened and what was wrong with him, he said he had cut his throat with a razor blade."
Allison characterized Burnett's actions as a suicide attempt.
"We don't know for sure right now, and it's still under a full investigation, but the razor blade that we recovered from him appeared to be taken out of a razor that he shaved with this morning," Allison said. "We're just assuming that he had it in his mouth because he was searched and given a new set of clothes, so we're just assuming that when he showered and shaved, he put that blade in the gum of his mouth and had it there the whole time."
Burnett was treated at the prison and then transferred to a hospital in Jackson.
"The last report I had, he is expected to make a full recovery," Allison said.
Earlier this morning Burnett, 48, had been sentenced by 15th District Circuit Court Judge Prentiss Harrell at the Marion County Circuit Courthouse to consecutive, 30-year prison terms after being convicted in a murder-for-hire scheme orchestrated from his prison cell.
Burnett had been found guilty in December on two counts of attempted capital murder by a Pearl River County jury in Poplarville for the attempted murder of his wife and step-daughter in Lamar County.
"This case amounts to a murder for hire," District Attorney Hal Kittrell said. "Mr. Burnett attempted to have his wife and step-daughter killed so they could not be witnesses in his pending trial in Lamar County.
"The sentence in this case amounts to Mr. Burnett serving 60 years in jail. We believe that to be an appropriate sentence for these atrocious crimes. Mr. Burnett is a dangerous man."
Kittrell said Burnett was looking at a sentencing range of a minimum 20 years to one-day-less than life expectancy.
"Judge Harrell looked at the life expectancy of a 48-year-old, and came up with a range of 30.7 years to 34 years," Kittrell said. "We were pleased with the sentence."
Burnett, who had spent the bulk of his 22 years in law enforcement with the Hattiesburg Police Department, was with the Lamar County Sheriff's Office when he retired in May after less than a year's service.
He was indicted in Lamar County on seven counts of sexual crimes he allegedly committed in late April and early May.
While being held at the Pearl River County Jail, he attempted in July to set up a hit on his wife and step-daughter to prevent their testimony.
He was charged with giving money to his former cell mate at PRC Jail to kill the two women.
Kittrell said Burnett is scheduled for trial on the various sex charges in Lamar County on March 17.
In another Marion County sentencing Friday, Harrell gave Shawn Bradley Louge, 27, consecutive life terms for two counts of murder.
Louge had pleaded guilty earlier this month to killing both his parents.
"We are pleased the judge ran the sentences consecutive," Kittrell said. "We believe this sentence recognizes the value of both the mother and father in this heinous crime."
In a matter related to the case, Thomas Ray Nichols pleaded guilty to a count of grand larceny and a count of accessory after the fact for the taking of a motor vehicle. Harrell sentenced him to 10 years with seven to serve on the charges.