Minister sentenced to one year in prison for striking trooper

The Baton Rouge Advocate/AP

LUCEDALE, Miss. (AP) -- The Rev. Herman Fountain was sentenced to one year in prison and put on probation for four years Wednesday after being convicted of striking a Mississippi state trooper.

George County Circuit Judge Clinton Lockard handed down the sentence to the controversial minister and operator of the Bethel Children's Home in Lucedale. Fountain, 39, will be turned over to the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

"I am sentencing you to serve one year because you were the leader," Lockard said. "That's the fairest thing that can be done. The tragic part of all of this is that you as the leader got yourself into this trouble."

Lockard allowed Fountain to remain free on $40,000 bond.

A 12-member jury -- nine women and three men -- deliberated for 51 minutes before returning the guilty verdict Tuesday after a one-day trial in Lucedale.

"We are very pleased with the verdict," said George County prosecutor Mark Maples, who handled the bulk of the state's case against Fountain. "There was ample evidence to convict. I am not surprised at the amount of time it took (to reach a verdict) because of the issue involved."

Fountain's legal woes will continue. He faces an additional count of assault against a law officer, but no trial date has been scheduled.

The guilty verdict stems from a June 13, 1988, altercation at the George County Courthouse when dozens of law officers, acting on orders from Sheriff Eugene Howell, stood guard over children taken from Fountain's church-based home by the state Department of Public Welfare.