The sheriff was served his indictment this afternoon at the Ocean Springs Police Department. Ocean Springs Chief Lionel Cothern, Pascagoula Chief Kenny Johnson, Gautier Chief Dante Elbin and Moss Point Chief Keith Davis were all present.

Of the 31 counts against Byrd, 29 are felonies and two are misdemeanors.

He was charged with 10 counts of embezzlement, 10 counts of fraud, two counts of hindering prosecution in the second degree, two counts of tampering with a witness, one count of perjury, two counts of attempt subornation of perjury, two counts of intimidating an officer in the discharge of his duties and two counts of extortion, according to the 15-page indictment. Several city police chiefs called Byrd's leadership into question after he withheld information about a shooting incident inside the task force offices in Pascagoula. The incident involved the task force's then commander, Jackie Trussell, shooting at and injuring an agent.

The Pascagoula, Moss Point and Gautier police chiefs later joined forces to create their own task force called the South Mississippi Metropolitan Enforcement Team.

In May, Trussell -- who had already resigned from the department -- pleaded guilty to misdemeanor simple assault and received a six-month suspended sentence and a $250 fine.

In a separate controversy, a major child pornography case involving former Ocean Springs Alderman James Hagan unraveled.

Hagan was arrested in late November 2011 and charged with improper touching of a child for lustful purposes, embezzlement and possession of child pornography, but he eventually had all of his charges dropped. A grand jury failed to indict him on two charges, and the DA's office later dropped the child porn charge for lack of evidence.

In June, Hagan filed a suit seeking $30 million in punitive and compensatory damages against the sheriff, several employees, the county and its insurance carrier.

Hagan claimed they lied in court, falsified paperwork, tampered with witnesses, abused the process and engaged in gross negligence, among other allegations.

The effects of the Hagan case have since trickled down to other Jackson County cases that were investigated by sheriff's detectives Hope Thornton and Linda Jones, who were both called out for wrongdoing in the Hagan lawsuit.

Defense attorneys in the other cases are attempting to use details from Hagan's case to defend their clients. Specifically, they are using information from a DA's investigation into allegations Hagan made against the sheriff and several of his employees.

While District Attorney Tony Lawrence has not spoken about what the investigation found, he has confirmed in court documents that his office has information that "may have the potential to affect the credibility of one or more witnesses."

In July, the sheriff released an unsolicited statement to the media that said his department had been subject to misplaced criticism and used for political gain.

"When law enforcement becomes the stepping stone for political gain or the target of misplaced criticism, the ability of law enforcement to ferret out criminal activity and present it for impartial and fair criminal prosecution comes to an end," he said.

Byrd said he would never "allow my office to serve as the prize target for those who have political aspirations nor will I allow those dedicated law enforcement officers who work with me and under me and who place their life on the line daily to be deterred in their efforts to investigate possible criminal activity because of threats of civil or criminal litigation."

When asked what prompted him to send the news release, the sheriff said "the press release speaks for itself."