IUKA – A woman was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted murder and aggravated assault in separate Prentiss County cases, according to the First Circuit Court District attorney’s office.
District Attorney Jason D. Herring said Veronica Gillespie pleaded guilty April 8, 2026, to attempted murder in connection with an Aug. 26, 2023, incident in Prentiss County. Gillespie also pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault stemming from a Nov. 8, 2022, incident in the county.
After accepting the guilty pleas, Circuit Court Judge Kelly Mims sentenced Gillespie to 40 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections on the attempted murder charge, with 10 years suspended, leaving 30 years to serve.
On the aggravated assault charge, Gillespie was sentenced to 20 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with all 20 years suspended. Prosecutors said that sentence will run consecutive to the sentence imposed in the attempted murder case.
The district attorney’s office recognized Booneville Police Department Detective Karl Courtney for his work on the investigations.
The cases were prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Joel Baldwin and Reagan Wise on behalf of the state.
