Associated Press - July 17, 2009 2:04 PM ET

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - U.S. Attorney Jim Letten's office says a Tangipahoa Parish sheriff's deputy has been indicted by a federal grand jury on a charge of possession with intent to distribute the drug Ecstasy.

Federal agents arrested the deputy, 44-year-old Kevin Whittington, earlier this month.

At the time of his arrest, prosecutors said an informant told the Drug Enforcement Administration that Whittington agreed to deliver 24 grams of crack cocaine to an inmate at the Tangipahoa Parish jail.

If convicted on the single count, Whittington would face a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a fine of up to $1 million. The indictment was handed up Thursday.

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