JACKSON— A federal grand jury in Jackson returned an indictment charging a former Jackson Police Department officer with selling a firearm to a convicted felon, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to court documents, Torrence Donnell Mayfield, 51 of Jackson, is charged with having sold a firearm to a person he knew to be a convicted felon. It is against federal law to sell a firearm to a known convicted felon.

Mayfield made his initial court appearance Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge F. Keith Ball who scheduled the case for trial on May 30 in U.S. District Court in Jackson.

Mayfield is the former police chief of Edwards, having resigned in 2018.

If convicted, Mayfield faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

The FBI is investigating the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.