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MCCOMB, Miss. (AP) — Two officers at the same Mississippi sheriff's department are becoming husband and wife.
Lt. Benedict "Bena" Williams and Deputy Jerry Jones Jr. are marrying Saturday in McComb, the Enterprise-Journal reported .
They met when Jones joined the Pike County Sheriff's Department in 2016. Both said they weren't looking for love, but their personalities clicked.
Jones says Williams is a strong woman with a softer side many people don't see. Williams says she can talk to Jones about anything.
Sheriff Kenny Cotton said Williams and Jones are the first colleagues in his administration to fall in love with each other — as far as he knows.
Williams is a shift supervisor and runs her own crew. Cotton said Jones won't be on that crew, just to keep emotions at bay.
In a way, Williams and Jones are opposites: She is more spontaneous and outgoing, while he is reserved and observant. But their personality differences make them compatible.
"He has to have a plan. He's structured. I'm not," Williams said. "If we're going to the store, we have to go the store and get in and get out. I can't take him shopping."
"No," Jones said. "I research everything I?need. I make a list and get only what I need."
Williams said she thought Jones was quiet at first, but he opened up to her.
"He never really talked to anyone during shift change," she said. "I just started talking to him. I asked him if I never would've spoken to him would he have said anything to me and he said, 'Unless it was work-related, no.'"
When promotions are available at work, they apply and wish each other luck.
Williams said they both applied for an investigator position, but neither got it. When the lieutenant position became available, both wanted to apply, but Jones encouraged Williams to go for it.
"He told me that it was my time now and it'll be his later," she said.
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Information from: Enterprise-Journal, http://www.enterprise-journal.com
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