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Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the indictment today of a former Lockhart police chief on multiple charges of domestic violence. Franklin Gregory Jackson, 50, of Lockhart, surrendered at the Covington County Sheriff’s Office yesterday.

Attorney General Marshall’s Criminal Trials Division presented evidence to a Covington County grand jury, resulting in Jackson’s indictment on Sept. 28. Specifically, the indictment charges him with one count of domestic violence strangulation or suffocation, one count of second-degree domestic violence/stalking, two counts of third-degree domestic violence/harassment, and one count of third-degree domestic violence/assault.

No further information about the investigation or about Jackson’s alleged crimes other than that stated in the indictment may be released at this time. An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

If convicted, Jackson faces a maximum penalty of two to 20 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $30,000 for domestic violence strangulation or suffocation and for second-degree domestic violence/stalking, which are class B felonies. He additionally faces up to one year imprisonment and a fine of up to $6,000 on each of the third-degree domestic violence charges, which are class A misdemeanors.