Former Sheriff "Gun" Ficklin dies in prison

BUTNER, NC (WAFB) - Former St. Helena Parish Sheriff Ronald "Gun" Ficklin has died in federal prison.

Ficklin, 57, was serving time at the Butner Federal Medical Center in North Carolina. A prison spokesman said Ficklin died Friday morning. He had been battling cancer.

The former mayor of Greensburg, LA, Ficklin was twice elected sheriff in St. Helena Parish.

The former sheriff pled guilty in February 2007 to 17 various charges connected to operating an illegal chop shop with a convicted felon.

He was sentenced by Federal Judge John Brady on Oct. 25, 2007 to five years and three months in prison. He was set to be released in June 2012.

The current St. Helena Parish Sheriff, Nat Williams, is seeking re-election in an election to be held Saturday. Williams faces two challengers, including Fred Bell and Ficklin's daughter, Melissa Ficklin-Clark.

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