Attorney Jeff Hosford tells what the next steps are in felony arrest cases

MONROE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – After the arrests in Monroe County of four daycare workers, many people are wondering what is next for the accused.

Three sets of parents have filed abuse charges in Monroe County Justice Court.

This follows a viral video taken at the Lil’ Blessings Childcare and Learning Center in Hamilton in early October.

In the video, a teacher at the daycare is seen wearing a Halloween mask and screaming at the toddlers, who appear in distress.

Those parents chose to file felony child abuse charges against four workers at the daycare.

Sierra McCandless, Oci-Anna Kilburn, Jennifer Newman, and Shyenne Shelton-Mills are each charged with three counts of felony child abuse.

Starkville attorney Jeff Hosford says the first steps after arrest are pretty standard in most felony cases.

“Well, obviously, once they’re charged they process them, and then they give them a bond. The next step will be a court hearing, which typically occurs first in Justice Court. At that point, they’ll enter a ‘not guilty’ plea because it’s a felony charge, and the justice court doesn’t have jurisdiction over felonies. At that point, they’ll probably request a preliminary hearing. A preliminary hearing will be held to determine if the facts are sufficient to bind them over to the Grand Jury,” said Hosford.

At that point, it would be up to the Grand Jury to either indict them and send the case to trial in Circuit Court, or if they don’t see enough evidence to warrant a felony, refer the case back to Justice Court.

Traci Hutson is charged with failure to report abuse and simple assault against a minor. That is a misdemeanor charge.

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