A 41-year-old former Payne Springs police officer, Jonathon Paul Hutchison of Mabank, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for selling drugs that had been previously seized by the department. Hutchison pleaded guilty to his charges on April 15, 2024. In addition to his drug dealing sentence, he received two years each for money laundering and tampering with an electronic monitoring device.
Also charged in the case was former Payne Springs police chief, April Meadows, who is slated for sentencing on August 27. The two were originally caught by the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office after an informant, who had been conducting controlled drug deals for police operations, became suspicious of the officers’ intentions.
