An Alabama grand jury has recommended that the small town of Hanceville’s police department be "immediately abolished," finding there is a "rampant culture of corruption," officials said Wednesday while announcing the indictment of five of the agency's officers, including its police chief.
Five Hanceville police officers were arrested and charged amid a probe into the department, Cullman County District Attorney Champ Crocker said. The spouse of one of the officers was also charged, he said. Hanceville is a town of about 3,000 people, ABC News reports.
Crocker provided limited details on the case. Though the investigation encompassed the department's evidence room and the death of a Hanceville dispatcher, 49-year-old Christopher Michael Willingham, who was found dead from a toxic drug combination at work, officials said.
The Cullman County grand jury found that the Hanceville Police Department has "failed to account for, preserve and maintain evidence and in doing so has failed crime victims and the public at large," making the evidence "unusable," Crocker said.
The grand jury further found that Willingham's death was "the direct result of the Hanceville Police Department's negligence, lack of procedure, general incompetence and disregard for human life," Crocker said.
Among those charged are Hanceville Police Chief Jason Shane Marlin, who was charged with failure to report an ethics crime and tampering with physical evidence, Crocker said.
Officers Cody Alan Kelso and Jason Scott Wilbanks were charged with computer tampering, tampering with physical evidence, conspiracy to commit a controlled substance crime and use of an official position for personal gain, Crocker said.
Officer William Andrew Shelnutt was charged with tampering with physical evidence, Crocker said.
Eric Michael Kelso, who was a reserve officer, and his wife, Donna Reid Kelso, were charged with unlawful distribution of a controlled substance and conspiracy to unlawfully distribute a controlled substance, Crocker said. The distribution charges are not based on the distribution of anything within the evidence room, and they are "accused of distributing certain drugs to other individuals, including some of these other defendants," he said.
