Jackson Free Press

An unrelenting rain beat down on the city of Vicksburg on Friday night, July 22. That rain didn’t seem to keep anyone away from the action at the River City Summer Basketball League, or River City League for short.

The stands were mostly filled with friends, family and people from the neighborhood at the Jackson Street Community Center (923 Walnut St., Vicksburg). Local strength and conditioning coach Ehaab Bayoumi worked the players through stretches and how to workout lingering injuries before they start play for the night.

Bayoumi worked for Jackson State University for a short time but is now the strength and conditioning coach for some of the best high-school and college kids in the state. He was quick to run down the list of players he has helped if it looked like a player wasn’t paying total attention to his words.

Several players on the floor are using the River City League to stay or get into shape before the next basketball season starts, including Chris Hyche.

Hyche is a former Provine High School and JSU star and is getting ready to resign with the World All-Stars, the team that now travels the world to get beaten by the Harlem Globetrotters. He hopes to be able to work his way onto the Globetrotters’ roster.

Jackson Showboats guard and ABA All-Star Will Werner is also using the league to get ready for the upcoming season. Werner burst on the scene at last year’s River City League to earn a spot on the Showboats roster.

Former Wingfield and Belhaven star Krayleon Winston has been a long time Showboat. But he has flirtations from the D-League and a contract offer from the Jacksonville Giants, a more established ABA team.

For some players, such as former Mississippi Valley State University star Jurmelle Hall, the RCL is a chance to get noticed again. Hall is working to get his basketball career going but had a rough night, as a lingering injury kept him off the court.

But for others, the RCL might be their only chance to continue their basketball career. Darrie Ollie spent some time at East Mississippi Community College and had a tryout at Coahoma Community College, but his grades have kept him off the court in college. He was highly coveted by MSVU until his grades derailed his chances of going.

Ollie was one of stars of the night, with a dunk that shook the rim and brought everyone in the house to their feet. He had other rim-rattling dunks and shots that were highlight worthy.

Hyche stole the night with his play. He grabbed alley-oop after alley-oop and slammed it down on just about any defender who tried to hold him. If he wasn’t catching alley-oops, he was throwing them to teammates.

The former Provine star knew he could take over the game at anytime and did when it suited him. He went on a highlight barrage in the …

The Department of Justice charged two more people involved in the former Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Christopher B. Epps' case today. Both press releases from the DOJ are reproduced verbatim below:

Texas Man Charged with Conspiracy to Bribe Former Corrections Commissioner

Mark Longoria, 53, of Houston, Texas has been charged in a Criminal Information with conspiracy to pay bribes to former Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) Commissioner Christopher B. Epps, announced Acting United States Attorney Harold Brittain and FBI Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Donald Alway. Longoria will appear for arraignment on Tuesday, July 26, 2016, at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Ball. The maximum penalty for conspiracy is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Deputy Criminal Chief Darren LaMarca, Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Lemon, and financial analyst Kim Mitchell.

The public is reminded that an indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Teresa Malone Charged with Conspiracy to Bribe Former Corrections Commissioner

Teresa Malone, 54, of Carthage, Mississippi has been charged with paying kickbacks to former Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner (MDOC) Christopher B. Epps in exchange for receiving a consulting agreement involving the MDOC and its operations, announced Acting United States Attorney Harold Brittain and FBI Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Donald Alway.

Malone will appear for arraignment on Wednesday, August 3, 2016, at 2:30 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Ball. She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000.00 fine for the conspiracy count, and a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000.00 fine for the bribery count.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Deputy Criminal Chief Darren LaMarca, Assistant United States Attorney Patrick A. Lemon, and financial analyst Kim Mitchell. The public is reminded that an indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.