Former MS Coast JROTC instructor arrested, charged with grooming of a child

Lawrence Richard Dizon Jr., a former St. Martin High School JROTC instructor, was arrested Wednesday and charged with grooming of a child, according to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.

Following a Wednesday hearing in front of Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Keith Miller, Dizon was taken to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department’s Adult Detention Center. He was assigned a $35,000 bond, and the case was bound over to await the action of a grand jury.

Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said the department was contacted by school administrators on Feb. 5, with allegations of inappropriate conduct between a student and Dizon. During the investigation, investigators learned of approximately 1,200 text messages exchanged between Dizon and the victim.

Dizon was later fired by St. Martin High School.

The new law, which was enacted in 2025, is a designed to protect children from engaging in inappropriate relationships with sexual predators. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department is asking anyone with information to contact the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department’s Criminal Investigative Division.

This story was originally published March 4, 2026 at 1:54 PM.