A woman charged with running an online prostitution service was sentenced to five years in prison during the October court term.

However, Circuit Court Judge Andrew Howorth suspended the five-year sentence for Santana Hervey, 26, 100 Suratt Circle, Water Valley and placed her on five years probation.

Hervey was formally charged last year with a felony charge of promoting prostitution during an ongoing prostitution sting conducted by the Oxford Police Department, Lafayette County Metro Narcotics United, The FBI and the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office.

Hervey was one of four arrested in August 2015; however, the other three women were charged with misdemeanor counts of prostitution and names were not released.

During the investigation it was discovered that appointments were being made through an online site and the encounters were made at local hotels at a prearranged date and time.

According to the Oxford Police Department, initial investigations and information gathering for the undercover task force began back in winter 2014. Investigators with OPD gathered information concerning a series of criminal events that occurred over a period of time and worked to connect the incidents to electronic advertisements for prostitution.

OPD contacted the FBI and the Attorney General’s Office and with the help of the Oxford-Lafayette Metro Narcotics Unit, the task force came together and conducted a sting operation at a local hotel.

Of particular concern was the possibility that minors could be involved, said Oxford Police Chief Joey East at the time of Hervey’s arrest.

is type of criminal activity brings more crime with it. We have documented cases that connect some of these people to narcotic activity, robbery and assault,” he said. “So often in cases of prostitution, you will find human trafficking victims who are under the age of 18. We want to make sure that is not happening in Oxford.”

Life sentence handed down

The man charged with killing a local funeral home owner a year ago was sentenced to life in prison during the October court term.

Nathaniel A. Huddleston, 28, of Oxford, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of Kenneth Roberson, 53, who was found dead in his home Oct. 23, 2015. He died from a gunshot wound to the head, according to medical reports.

Huddleston will become eligible for parole when he turns 65 years old.

According to court records, Roberson was found dead at 1:35 a.m. at home Molly Barr Road after the Oxford Police Department received a call from a family member asking the police to check on Roberson.

A licensed embalmer and mortician, Roberson owned two funeral homes — one in Pontotoc and another in Batesville.

Other cases disposed of during the October court term were:

* David A. Adams, 24, 47 Riverside Drive, Oxford. Charge: felon in possession of a firearm. Disposition: three years probation

* Kamika Alvarenga, 904 Brittany Drive, Oxford. Charge: false pretense. Disposition: five years probation

* Andrew Bandler, 22, Decatur, Illinois. Charge: sale of controlled substance. Disposition: three years probation

* Nathan Damon Boyd, 22, Courtland. Charge: commercial burglary. Disposition: Drug Court

* Willie F. Brown, 54, New Albany. Charge: felony DUI. Disposition: three years to serve

* Micky Bunch, 12 CR 109, Oxford. Charge: second-degree arson (dismissed), attempted malicious mischief. Disposition: five years, five years suspended, three years probation

* Christian P. Burnett, 24, 2115 Delores Drive, Oxford. Charge: five counts of burglary. Disposition: Restitution Center

* Jordan Burnett, 21, 51 CR 198, Oxford. Charge: possession of marijuana. Disposition: three years probation

* Christen Coleman, 34,1555 Chickasaw Road, Oxford. Charge: possession of controlled substance with intent to distribute. Disposition: Drug Court

* Demarius Coleman, 25, 24 CR 288, Abbeville. Charge: possession of controlled substance with intent to distribute. Disposition: five years, four years suspended, one year to serve

* Robert Dees, 49, Batesville. Charge: felony DUI. Disposition: five years, two years suspended, three years to serve

* Mary Cameron Dogan, 26, 2000 Lexington Pointe, Oxford. Charge: DUI. Disposition: non-adjudication

* Janet Ivan Fox, 132, 85 CR 321, Oxford. Charge: possession of controlled substance with intent to distribute. Disposition: three years probation

* Quentin Fronczak, 20, Biloxi. Charge: burglary of a dwelling. Disposition: eight years, five years suspended, three years to serve

* Fancher Gallasby, 20, 206 Sisk Ave., Oxford. Charge: kidnapping, sexual battery. Disposition: seven years, seven years suspended, five years probation

* Mark Hampton, 23, 405 Taylor Bend, Oxford. Charge: sale of controlled substance. Disposition: Pretrial intervention

* Clark Allen Hanley, 20, no address. Charge: possession of controlled substance with intent to distribute. Disposition: pretrial intervention

* Nicholas Hart, 36, Ripley. Charge: possession of methamphetamine. Disposition: three years suspended

* Henry Heckethorn, 42, 4 Effie Circle, Oxford. Charge: possession of controlled substance. Disposition: two years probation

* Stacey Horton, 45, Pontotoc. Charge: possession of stolen firearm. Disposition: pretrial intervention

* Sanders Johnston, Dallas, Texas. Charge: possession of THC. Disposition: pretrial intervention

* Keota Yuokeith Jones, 37, 9 CR 398, Taylor. Charge: possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Disposition: eight years, five years suspended, three years to serve

* Tashan Keller, 22, 8A CR 2002, Abbeville. Charge: sale of controlled substance within 1500 feet of a school. Disposition: Restitution Center

* Chris Kelly, 22, Nashville. Charge: sale of controlled substance. Disposition: five years probation

* Dusty King, 59, 3 CR 3015, Taylor. Charge: uttering forgery. Disposition: probation revoked

* Chris Marshall, 27, 4 CR 398, Taylor. Charge: auto burglary. Disposition: dismissed

* Daniel Mathias Jr., 58,110 Garden Terrace, Oxford. Charge: false pretense. Disposition: dismissed

* Brishen Matthews, 25, Woodward, Oklahoma. Charge: sale of controlled substance. Disposition: five years probation

* Grady Lee McCullar, 33, 18 CR 108, Abbeville. Charge: sale of controlled substance. Disposition: eight years, four years suspended, four years to serve

* Jermarcus Quentel Moore, 28, Holly Springs. Charge: possession of controlled substance with intent to distribute. Disposition: three years suspended, three years probation

* Garrison Morgan, 23, no address. Charge: possession of cocaine. Disposition: pretrial intervention

* Robert Benjamin Moore, 22, Mobile, Alabama. Charge: possession of marijuana. Disposition: pretrial intervention

* Cody B. Myrick, 30, 107 Grafton Drive, Water Valley. Charge: burglary of a dwelling. Disposition: 15 years, nine suspended, six to serve

* Breanna Navarro, 24, Brooklyn, New York. Charge: possession of controlled substance. Disposition: two years suspended sentence

* Robin Noblin, 25, Memphis, Tennessee. Charge: possession of controlled substance. Disposition: 90 days Technical Violation Center

* Scott Parkin, 22, Brandon. Charge: sale of controlled substance. Charge: five years probation

* Preston Tyler Phillips, 18, 410 Dupay St., Water Valley. Charge: possession of controlled substance. Disposition: two years probation

* Alex Piazza, 19, Alton, Illinois. Charge: possession of controlled substance. Disposition: two years probation

* Patrick Plaxico, 22, Horn Lake. Charge: aggravated assault. Disposition: 10 years suspended, three years post-release supervision

* Joseph Reynolds, 21, Crossroads, Texas. Charge: possession of controlled substance with intent to distribute. Disposition: five years probation

* Tramaine Robinson, 24, Coffeeville. Charge: sale of controlled substance. Disposition: three years suspended, three years probation

* Raymond Daryle Roper, 31, Batesville. Charge: felon in possession of a firearm (dismissed), burglary of a dwelling, sale of controlled substance (habitual). Disposition: 28 years, 12 suspended, eight to serve

* Sabrina Sapp, 36, Grenada. Charge: attempted aggravated assault, statutory rape (retired). Disposition: five years suspended, five years probation

* Patrick Silich, 19, East Hampton, New York. Charge: possession of controlled substance. Disposition: six months, six months suspended

* Joseph Sills, 20, Illinois. Charge: burglary of a dwelling. Disposition: reduced to time served

* Willie Sisk,  48, 2209 Robinson Lane, Oxford. Charge: possession of cocaine. Disposition: three years prison, two years suspended, one year to serve

* Robert L. Smith, 49, 210 CR 217, Oxford.  Charge: accessory after the fact. Disposition: dismissed

* Travis Stokes, 34, 581 CR 101, Oxford. Charge: false pretense. Disposition: pretrial intervention

* Steven Summer, 44, Brandon. Charge: possession of a controlled substance. Disposition: 24 months probation

* Bobby Gean Townsend, 42, 42 Park Drive, Abbeville. Charge: two counts of possession of a controlled substance. Disposition: 20 years, 15 years suspended, five to serve

* Cord Tutor, 25, Pontotoc. Charge: possession of a controlled substance. Disposition: five years probation

* Catrina Washington, 53, 208 N. 5th St., Oxford. Charge: grand theft. Disposition: intense supervised probation

* Latoya Waters, 29, 1 CR 4002, Oxford. Charge: credit card fraud. Disposition: three years probation

* Andrew Watts, 31, 8 CR 4076, Oxford. Charge” grand theft. Disposition: drug court

* Steve E. Weeks, 34, Grenada. Charge: felony shoplifting. Disposition: 90 days Technical Violation Center

* Porsha K. Wilson, 26, 48B CR 104, Oxford. Charges: two counts of possession of a controlled substance and child endangerment. Disposition: intense supervised probation

* Paula D. Womack, 53, address unavailable. Charge: felony false pretense. Disposition: retired to files

* Yujia Xie, 20, 229 Town Center Drive, Apt. 12, Oxford. Charge: burglary of a dwelling. Disposition: pretrial intervention

* Shelby Yates, 22, Clinton. Charge: possession of a controlled substance. Disposition: five years probation

Managing Editor Rob Sigler contributed to this report.