U.S. Department of Justice

Federal Bureau of Investigation

100 W. Capitol Street
Suite 1553
Jackson, Mississippi 39269

Contact: Deborah Madden
(601) 948-5000

For Immediate Release
December 7, 2006

MOSS POINT POLICE OFFICER ARRESTED BY FBI

John G. Raucci, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Mississippi, announced as follows:

As a result of a joint investigation between the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, the Narcotics Task Force of Jackson County and the Moss Point Police Department, WENDY MASON PEYREGNE, age 25, a Moss Point Police Officer since 2004, was arrested Thursday afternoon and charged with Possession With Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. PEYREGNE was on duty with the Moss Point Police Department at the time of her arrest. Agents seized approximately six (6) grams of methamphetamine from PEYREGNE during the arrest.

PEYREGNE will have an initial appearance scheduled before Senior United States Magistrate Judge John M. Roper in Gulfport, Mississippi on December 8, 2006 at 10:00 am.
If convicted, PEYREGNE could receive a sentence of from 5 years to 40 years in a federal prison and a $1,000,000.00 fine.

The FBI Safe Streets Task Force is a member of the Gulf Coast HIDTA initiative and receives significant funding from the Office of National Drug Control Policy in Washington D.C. It is made up of Special Agents from the FBI and law enforcement officers from the Pascagoula, Moss Point, Gautier, and Ocean Springs Police Departments, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.
Mr. Raucci stressed that the charges against PEYREGNE are accusations only and there is a presumption of innocence prior to any judicial proceedings.