A former Jones County deputy sheriff and volunteer firefighter will spend 13 years in prison for a fraudulent insurance claim. Fifty-year-old James Plower of Olin pled guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of using fire to commit a federal felony.

He admitted during his plea hearing that he made up a scheme to deliberately set fire to his home in Martelle and then submitted an insurance claim that said the fire was an accident. Plower was sentenced to 13 years in prison and also ordered to pay $153,000 in restitution.