An Alabama grand jury called for the immediate abolishment of a local police department after five officers were indicted on multiple felony and misdemeanor charges, officials said Wednesday.
Cullman County District Attorney Champ Crocker announced Wednesday that Hanceville Police Chief Jason Marlin, four of his officers and one of their wives had been indicted on corruption, tampering and drug charges. The indictment follows the death of 49-year-old Christopher Michael Willingham last summer.
Willingham, a dispatch supervisor at the Hanceville Police Department, was found dead at the department on Aug. 23, 2024, according to the Cullman County Coroner’s Office.
Pathology and toxicology reports issued by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences concluded that Willingham died from the combined toxic effects of fentanyl, gabapentin, diazepam, amphetamine, carisoprodol and methocarbamol.
Jurors determined that Willingham’s death was the direct result of the police department’s “negligence, lack of procedure, general incompetence and disregard for human life,” Crocker said. An investigation revealed that the department’s evidence room was not secure, which allowed unauthorized people to access the room.
“These officers find themselves on the opposite end of the laws they were sworn to uphold,” Crocker said during a news conference. “They will be held accountable.”
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What are the Hanceville police officers accused of?
Crocker said the five Hanceville officers were charged with:
- Jason Shane Marlin: Two counts of failure to report an ethics crime and one count of tampering with physical evidence.
- Cody Allen Kelso: Two counts of computer tampering, and one count each of tampering with physical evidence, conspiracy to commit a controlled substance crime, and use of official office for personal gain.
- Jason Scott Wilbanks: Two counts each of computer tampering, solicitation to commit a controlled substance, and use of official office for personal gain. He also faces once count of tampering with physical evidence.
- William Andrew Shelnutt: One count of tampering with physical evidence.
- Eric Michael Kelso: Four counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance and two counts of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute a controlled substance.
Kelso’s wife, Donna Reid Kelso, was also charged with two counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance and two counts of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute a controlled substance, according to Crocker.
All charges against the six defendants are felonies with the exception of tampering with physical evidence, which is a Class A misdemeanor, Crocker said. The district attorney added that he does not expect any additional charges unless there is new evidence.
The Hanceville Police Department has a total of nine officers, according to the latest data from the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Hanceville, in northern Alabama, is a small city of just over 3,200 residents.
Marlin joined the department in 2021 after working with the Birmingham Police Department for 20 years, The Cullman Times reported. He was named police chief last August following the resignation of former chief Josh Howell.
At the time, Hanceville Mayor Jimmy Sawyer said Marlin would prioritized transparency and communicating with the public, according to The Cullman Times.
Jury finds a ‘rampant culture of corruption’ in Hanceville Police Department
Crocker noted that “one of the most concerning things” authorities discovered in the investigation was that the department’s evidence room was not secure.
“Criminal evidence must be secured in order to have that evidence for prosecution and to ensure due process,” Crocker said. “This evidence room was anything but secure.”
Crocker showed images of the evidence room during Wednesday’s news conference, in which a hole was visible in the wall. Another image showed a broomstick that was used to access the evidence room.
Security camera footage showed that the evidence room was routinely accessed by unauthorized individuals, who used the broomstick and hole in the wall to go in and out of the room, according to Crocker.
After reviewing the evidence, Crocker said the jury unanimously recommended that the police department be abolished as soon as possible. The jury found a “rampant culture of corruption in the Hanceville Police Department, which has recently operated as more of a criminal enterprise than a law enforcement agency,” according to Crocker.
Other findings and recommendations from the grand jury include:
- Another law enforcement agency, either local or state, be tasked with protecting citizens of Hanceville.
- Hanceville police failed to account for, preserve and maintain evidence, and in doing so has failed crime victims and the public at large. This evidence is unusable.
- The jury toured the Hanceville Jail on Feb. 12 and said they had “zero confidence” in Hanceville police’s ability to maintain a jail or to meet basic health and safety needs of jail personnel or inmates.
Crocker and Hanceville’s municipal judge have also requested a state audit of the evidence room.
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Crocker added that Hanceville officials, including Sawyer and the city council, have pledged their full cooperation in the investigation.
In a statement released following the announcement of the indictments, Sawyer said Hanceville police had “fallen short in its mission to serve the people.”
“The people of Hanceville deserve full transparency regarding the extent of these issues. The Council will carefully consider all recommendations and act swiftly and decisively to address the problems within the Police Department,” Sawyer said. Our citizens, industries, and businesses deserve a resolution, and will pursue and implement the necessary corrective actions openly and aggressively.”
The city of Hanceville is located in Cullman County and is about 43 miles north of Birmingham. As of 2020, the population of Hanceville is over 3,200, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.