PEARL — A former Pearl police officer was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to grand larceny for stealing $32,000 from the home of a recently deceased woman, District Attorney John K. “Bubba” Bramlett announced Wednesday.
Christopher Taylor Lofton, 30, entered the plea in Rankin County Circuit Court and received the maximum penalty from Circuit Judge Dewey Arthur.
Lofton was also ordered to pay full restitution and surrender his law enforcement certification.
Authorities said the theft occurred Nov. 18, 2024, when Lofton responded to a medical call at the home of an elderly woman who had died of natural causes. After officers and paramedics left the residence, the woman’s husband reported that $32,000 in cash was missing from a bedroom drawer.
Pearl Police Chief Nick McLendon immediately notified the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and turned over body camera footage from all officers on the scene, according to Bramlett’s office. MBI investigators reviewed the video and determined that Lofton entered the bedroom, located the cash in a dresser drawer and took it as he exited the home.
The case was referred to the Rankin County District Attorney’s Office, and a grand jury indicted Lofton on one count of grand larceny. He later chose to plead guilty rather than proceed to trial. Prosecutors sought the maximum sentence allowed by law, citing the circumstances of the crime.
Bramlett praised the Pearl Police Department for its transparency and the MBI for its investigative work.
“This officer failed in every respect by not serving the public’s trust, not protecting the innocent and not upholding the law,” Bramlett said in a statement. “He not only violated every standard of law enforcement, but those of human decency as well. Our prayers continue for the victim and his family.”
