MONTICELLO — A Lawrence County judge arrested Friday on drugcharges has attracted the interest of the Mississippi Commissionfor Judicial Performance.

Justice Court Judge Post 1 Bobby Fortenberry, 46, of 60 Mary LouTurner Road, New Hebron, was charged with possession of 2.5 gramsof methamphetamine with intent to distribute and conspiracy todistribute meth. He was still in the Lincoln County Jail Wednesdayon a $1 million cash bond.

“The commission is certainly interested any time a judge ischarged with criminal conduct,” said Brant Brantley, executivedirector of the Judicial Performance Board.

Fortenberry is a 16-year veteran of the bench who won reelectionto his fifth term in November.

The Judicial Performance Board is not taking any action at thistime, Brantley said, but will continue to monitor the case.

“We’re waiting to see what happens with the grand jury, andwe’ll go from there,” he said.

Peggy Woodard, a clerk in the Justice Court, said Fortenberrywould not have any cases to rule on until the next court term,which begins April 13.

Should Fortenberry be released before then, Brantley said, hecould rule on those cases.

In the event Fortenberry was still incarcerated, Woodard said,the cases would most likely still be tried.

“They would probably be transferred to Judge (Donnie) Mullins ifJudge Fortenberry is still unavailable,” she said.

In most cases, Brantley said, the grand jury determines the nextstep for the Judicial Performance Board.

“If indicted, the commission would recommend to the MississippiSupreme Court that the judge be suspended,” he said.

Usually, Brantley said, the state Supreme Court follows thoserecommendations and issues a suspension. The suspension preventsthe judge from trying any more cases until his case is cleared or aconviction is handed down.

A judge who is found guilty during trial is automaticallyremoved from office by law, Brantley said.

Fourteenth District District Attorney Dewitt “Dee” Bates saidTuesday a date has not yet been set for the next grand jury, butFortenberry’s case would be presented when it did convene.

Fortenberry’s arrest was the culmination of an investigationspanning years by the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department,Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, Pearl River Basin Narcotics TaskForce, Mississippi Highway Patrol Criminal Investigative Bureau,14th District District Attorney’s Office and the state AttorneyGeneral’s Office.

“We’ve had an ongoing investigation on him going back at leastfour years,” said Lawrence County Sheriff Joel Thames.

Thames said members of the public alerted him that the judge wasallegedly selling drugs and have continued to provide informationand lodge complaints for the past several years.

“There’s been years of public complaints about him alleging druginvolvement,” Thames said.

Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics Captain Mike Aldridge said morearrests may be forthcoming.