A 73-year-old Picayune MS man is in the Washington Parish Jail on charges that he tried to buy a 10-month-old child.
Howell Gene Penton is being held on $200,000 bond. Allegedly, he approached a woman at the Angie Auction House last Wednesday and tried to purchase her 10-month-old female baby.
The Auction House contacted the police. An undercover operation was set up and on Saturday of last week Penton was arrested.
The case was handled by the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit, along with the Angie Police Department.
The Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with information on this case or a similar situation to contact investigators at 985-839-3434.
