HERNANDO, Miss. (WMC) - DeSoto County leaders plan to seek state funding for a new justice center to handle what officials say is a rising number of criminal cases as the county’s population grows.

Local and state legislators met Monday night to discuss the county’s priorities for the 2026 Mississippi legislative session, with the justice center ranking among the top needs.

“We just communicated to our legislators some of the pressing needs of DeSoto County, and we went over a bunch of them yesterday,” said Mark Gardner, DeSoto County Board of Supervisors president. “We actually put together a book for them to take back to Jackson.”

Gardner said the need for a new justice center stems from rapid population growth, which he says correlates with more court cases.

“This is definitely the

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