Executive Leadership Team | City of Moss Point

Get to know us

Service to the City. Service to the people.

Your City’s Executive Leadership team is dedicated to serving residents. One mission, and three commitments we hold to every day.

City Clerk

Tricia Thigpen

Tricia Thigpen has over nineteen years of public service experience, including ten years as a deputy city clerk. Ms. Thigpen began her career with the City of Moss Point in May 2018 as the Deputy City Clerk.

As a City Clerk, it is my responsibility to be a steward and protector of the democratic processes, such as elections and access to official records, and to comply with federal, state, and local statutes. I also have to support the mayor and board of aldermen in reaching their innovation, transparency, and fairness goals while promoting community participation and awareness.

She assisted the Office of the City Clerk by developing and preparing agendas for the Board of Aldermen meetings and composing the meeting minutes. In August 2018, Ms. Thigpen was appointed City Clerk for Moss Point.

She is a 1985 graduate of Pascagoula High School and attended Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi. Ms. Thigpen is a certified administration support specialist through the MS State Personnel Board. She completed the city clerk's certification and graduated in June 2020.

City Attorney

Randy G. Pierce

Randy G. “Bubba” Pierce began his law practice in 1997. While practicing law in Greene County, in 1999 he was elected to the state legislature and re-elected in 2003.

During his second term, Governor Haley Barbour appointed him to be a Chancery Court Judge for the sixteenth chancery court district (Jackson, George and Greene Counties). After being elected without opposition for a full term as a chancery judge, in 2008 Randy was elected to the Mississippi Supreme Court.

Randy served on the supreme court until he was named Director of the Mississippi Judicial College in 2016. While serving on the supreme court, he taught adjunct at the University of Southern Mississippi and the Mississippi College School of Law. Randy also taught at the University of Mississippi and the University of Mississippi School of Law during his tenure at the Mississippi Judicial College.

Randy's practice areas include all aspects of chancery court, general civil litigation, youth court matters, civil appellate matters, governmental entities, and government relations. Randy is also available for mediation and/or arbitration of legal disputes.

Randy received his undergraduate degree in accounting and his MBA from the University of Southern Mississippi. He graduated law school from the University of Mississippi. Randy is a Certified Public Accountant and frequent speaker at continuing legal education seminars and at continuing judicial education conferences. Randy was recognized for his leadership by receiving the Chief Justice Award in 2020 and has been inducted into the Mississippi Bar Foundation.

He is a member of the Mississippi Bar Association, American Bar Association, Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Randy and his wife Cheryl reside in Greene County. They attend church at Watermark in Lucedale where Randy frequently teaches in his life group.

Director of Human Resources & Risk Management

Veneice A. Barnett

Veneice A. Barnett studied psychology at Tougaloo College in Tougaloo, Mississippi. Her training and professional development have not stopped on those hollow grounds either.

She possesses knowledge and resources from various local, state, and private agencies. She has an ASCP Certification with the State Personnel Board's Administrative Support Certification Program, an HRCP Certification with the State Personnel Board's Human Resources Certification Program, and a Notary Public Commission under the State of Mississippi Secretary of State's Office.

Her career spans eighteen-plus years, and she has spent the last sixteen years in progressively responsible roles in the City of Gautier and the Jackson County Board of Supervisors. In November 2021, her commitment to public service drew her back to municipal government at the City of Moss Point.

Veneice currently resides in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and enjoys poetry, traveling, spending time with her family and friends, and mentoring youth while leading and serving as a member of her sorority and Masonic organizations.

Chief, Moss Point Police Department

Dennis Stevenson

Chief Dennis Stevenson brings more than three decades of law enforcement experience and a deep commitment to community service to the Moss Point Police Department.

A Gulf Coast native, Chief Stevenson began his career with the Biloxi Police Department before joining the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, where he served as a state trooper for 27 years prior to his retirement in 2024. Rooted in Moss Point, he also serves as pastor of New Faith Missionary Baptist Church, a role that reflects his lifelong investment in the people and families of this community.

In October 2025, he answered the call to serve once more when city leaders appointed him during a critical period of transition for the department. His steady leadership, focus on accountability, and genuine care for the community earned him the full confidence of the Board of Aldermen, who formally and permanently appointed him Chief of Police on January 7, 2026.

Chief Stevenson is committed to building a well-trained, community-minded department and believes that lasting public safety in Moss Point will come through partnership, trust, and a shared investment in the city's future.

Interim Chief, Moss Point Fire Department

David Eaker

Interim Fire Chief David Eaker brings twenty-five years in the fire service and more than two decades of dedication to Moss Point, where he has served since 2004.

Chief Eaker joined the Moss Point Fire Department in June 2004 and has spent twenty-two years rising through its ranks, serving as a firefighter, a lieutenant, and a battalion chief before stepping into the role of interim chief. That steady progression has given him a firsthand understanding of every level of the department he now leads.

His commitment is simple and unwavering. He wants the best for the citizens of Moss Point and for the Moss Point Fire Department. A firefighter at heart, he loves the work and the opportunity it gives him to serve others and help people when they need it most.

Outside the firehouse, Chief Eaker is a devoted family man. He has one son, one stepson, and two stepdaughters, along with three grandchildren.

Municipal Judge

Dustin N. Thomas

Dustin N. Thomas serves as Municipal Judge for the City of Moss Point. A Pascagoula native, he has practiced law on the Mississippi Gulf Coast since 1998 and has run his own firm, the Law Office of Dustin N. Thomas, PLLC, since 2009.

Judge Thomas earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1998 and began his career as an associate with Montague, Pittman and Varnado, P.A. in Hattiesburg. In 2001 he joined the District Attorney's Office for the Nineteenth Circuit Court District, serving Jackson, George, and Greene Counties as an Assistant District Attorney.

He later practiced with the Denham Law Firm before opening his own practice in his hometown of Pascagoula in 2009. He has also served as City Prosecutor for both Gautier and Pascagoula, giving him experience on every side of a case. His work has centered on criminal defense, family law, and personal injury, and he holds Martindale-Hubbell's AV Preeminent rating, the highest peer rating for legal ability and ethical standards.

His path to the bench began far from a courtroom. Before practicing law, Judge Thomas worked at Mississippi's largest shipyard and served as a police officer for a decade. That blue-collar, law-enforcement background shapes the practical, plain-spoken perspective he brings to the municipal court.

On the bench, Judge Thomas draws on his law enforcement experience, prosecutorial insight, and decades of courtroom practice. He is committed to administering justice fairly and impartially, with respect for the rule of law and for the citizens he serves.

Public Defender

Cameron McCormick

Cameron McCormick serves as the Public Defender for the City of Moss Point, representing individuals who cannot afford private counsel in the city's municipal court system.

In this role, he ensures that every defendant's constitutional right to a fair trial is protected, bringing a mix of trial skill, deep legal knowledge, and a commitment to justice for all residents.

Raised in Pascagoula, Mississippi, McCormick graduated from Pascagoula High School before earning his Bachelor of Business Administration from Mississippi College. He went on to graduate cum laude from Mississippi College School of Law, ranking in the top 20 percent of his class. His law school career was marked by multiple distinctions, including highest grades in Trial Practice and Evidence, the American Board of Trial Advocates Scholarship, and victories in national arbitration competitions.

McCormick is licensed to practice in Mississippi and is the founder of McCormick Law Firm, PLLC, headquartered in Pascagoula. His legal work spans high-profile criminal defense, family law, and general litigation. Over the years, he has defended clients in serious felony cases such as capital murder, armed robbery, and aggravated assault, as well as high-visibility matters involving public officials.

In his capacity as Moss Point's Public Defender, McCormick provides skilled representation for cases ranging from misdemeanors and DUI charges to more complex criminal matters arising in municipal jurisdiction. Known for his strategic preparation, sharp courtroom advocacy, and unwavering client support, he is recognized as a reliable and respected advocate within the Gulf Coast legal community.

Municipal Judge Pro Tempore

Adrianne Crawford Rhoads

Adrianne Crawford Rhoads serves as Municipal Judge Pro Tempore for the City of Moss Point. The daughter of Thomas Crawford of Moss Point, she is a 2002 graduate of the University of South Alabama and earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 2005.

She is a former Assistant District Attorney for the Nineteenth Judicial District and a former Assistant Public Defender for Jackson County. Today she owns the Law Offices of Adrianne Crawford Rhoads, where her practice focuses on criminal and family law.

Adrianne is a member of the American Bar Association, the Mississippi Bar Association, the Mississippi Public Defender's Association, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

She resides in Ocean Springs with her two children, England and Rowan, and her husband, Joshua Rhoads, a Sergeant with the Jackson County Sheriff's Department and the owner of RT Firearms in Gautier. Adrianne is also a sponsor for Grand Mag Music and enjoys baking, traveling, and catching as many live concerts as possible.