Cullman County DA says 58 Hanceville PD cases deemed ‘unprosecutable' by grand jury
CULLMAN, Ala. (WHNT) — The Cullman County District Attorney says a grand jury has determined that 58 cases investigated by the Hanceville Police Department cannot be prosecuted.
District Attorney Champ Crocker said a Cullman County Grand jury conceded in April and voted to dismiss 58 felony cases previously investigated by the Hanceville Police Department. Crocker said the dismissals are due to 'the illegal actions' of several former Hanceville Police officers.
Alabama bill giving ABC Board regulation over THC products derived from hemp awaiting Gov. Ivey's signature
'The Grand Jury that unanimously indicted the former Hanceville police officers determined that those officers' cases, and other cases from the Hanceville Police Department, were unprosecutable,' The district attorney said. 'The same Grand Jury reconvened in April and voted to no-bill, or dismiss, 58 felony cases due to the illegal actions of those former Hanceville officers. Most of these cases involved drugs, and only a few were personal crimes with victims. One dismissal is too many, but the Grand Jury had no other recourse.'
Crocker said the jury convened after the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation completed its audit of the department.
That audit showed that 249 pieces of evidence in the department's evidence room were not documented with case numbers and approximately 78 evidence bags were unsealed or torn open.
Crocker shared images of the results of that audit, which can be found here:
(Courtesy of the Cullman County District Attorney's Office)
(Courtesy of the Cullman County District Attorney's Office)
(Courtesy of the Cullman County District Attorney's Office)
(Courtesy of the Cullman County District Attorney's Office)
Crocker also shared several photos showing the state of the evidence room.
This all comes after an investigation into the death of a Hanceville dispatcher, Christopher Willingham. The Cullman County Coroner said Willingham died of an accidental drug overdose in his office.
The death investigation led officials with multiple agencies to look into what was happening within the Hanceville Police Department.
On Feb. 19, Crocker and Sheriff Matt Gentry announced that five Hanceville Police Officers, including Police Chief Jason Marlin, and one of the officer's wives were arrested on various charges including tampering, solicitation and failure to report.
Crocker shared other findings from the Cullman County Grand Jury, which found that the 'death of former Hanceville dispatcher Chris Willingham is the direct result of Hanceville Police Department's negligence, lack of procedure, general incompetence, and disregard for human life.'
The grand jury also recommended that the Hanceville Police Department be abolished.
The Hanceville City Council later acted on that recommendation by voting to disband the department entirely, with the goal of starting a new police department. The city said its first step would be hiring a new police chief.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Mass. man sentenced to prison for trafficking counterfeit Adderall containing methamphetamine
BOSTON (WWLP) – A Lowell man was sentenced to prison last Wednesday for possession and distribution of counterfeit Adderall pills containing methamphetamine. Charging documents stated that 39-year-old Brian Gingras of Lowell was a drug supplier involved in the Asian Boyz Gang distribution network. Investigators found that between May 2022 and September 2022, Gingras delivered over 5,000 counterfeit Adderall pills to ABZ gang member Bill Phim. Mass. man arrested following deadly crash in November During this time, Phim reportedly then sold the counterfeit pills to an undercover federal agent for over $18,000. The pills were discovered through chemical testing to contain a dangerously high level of methamphetamine and caffeine. For his role in the conspiracy, Phim was sentenced in May 2025 to ten years in prison. Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for Gingras' home, where they found hundreds more counterfeit Adderall pills, counterfeit Xanax pills, and a pill press. Officers also found a storage unit containing a loaded firearm, over 30 kilograms of counterfeit Adderall pills containing only caffeine, bags of marijuana, and boxes of THC extract and edible products. In January 2025, Gingras pleaded guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Distribute and to Possess with Intent to Distribute 50 grams or more of Methamphetamine, and one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute 50 grams or more of Methamphetamine. Gingras was sentenced on June 4 to nine years in prison, followed by four years of supervised release. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Post
3 days ago
- New York Post
Karoline Leavitt rips Van Hollen, media for portrayal of Kilmar Abrego Garcia
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called out Democrats and the media for defending illegal immigrant and suspected MS-13 member Kilmar Abrego Garcia Friday. Abrego Garcia, who was deported in March to an El Salvador mega prison, was returned to the U.S. Friday to answer federal charges for human smuggling and conspiracy. 'The Justice Department's Grand Jury Indictment against Abrego Garcia proves the unhinged Democrat Party was wrong, and their stenographers in the Fake News Media were once again played like fools,' Leavitt said in a statement to Fox News. 'Abrego Garcia was never an innocent 'Maryland Man'– Abrego Garcia is an illegal alien terrorist, gang member, and human trafficker who has spent his entire life abusing innocent people, especially women and the most vulnerable,' Leavitt added. She also called out Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., who traveled to El Salvador in April 'to show solidarity' with Abrego Garcia. 'Abrego Garcia will now return to the United States to answer for his crimes and meet the full force of American justice,' Leavitt said. 'The Democrat lawmakers, namely Democrat Senator Chris Van Hollen, and every single so-called 'journalist' who defended this illegal criminal abuser must immediately apologize to Garcia's victims. The Trump Administration will continue to hold criminals accountable to the fullest extent of the law.' 4 White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called out Democrats and the media for defending suspected MS-13 member Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Ron Sachs/CNP / 4 Abrego Garcia was deported in March to an El Salvador mega prison and returned to the U.S. on Friday to answer federal charges for human smuggling and conspiracy. AP Abrego Garcia previously lived in Maryland before the administration deported him to the Central American country's mega prison. 4 Senator Chris Van Hollen meeting with Kilmar Abrego Garcia at a hotel in San Salvador, El Salvador, on April 17. x account of senator Van Hollen/AFP via Getty Images 4 'The Democrat lawmakers, namely Democrat Senator Chris Van Hollen, and every single so-called 'journalist' who defended this illegal criminal abuser must immediately apologize to Garcia's victims,' Leavitt said. According to Abrego Garcia's indictment, he played a 'significant role' in a human smuggling ring operating for nearly a decade, and Bondi described him as a full-time smuggler who made more than 100 trips, transporting women, children and MS-13 gang-affiliated persons throughout the United States. Fox News Digital obtained Tennessee Highway Patrol bodycam footage from a 2022 traffic stop where troopers pulled over Abrego Garcia for speeding. Inside his vehicle were eight other men, raising immediate suspicions. 'He's hauling these people for money,' one trooper said. Law enforcement found $1,400 in cash and flagged Abrego Garcia in the National Crime Information Center, which returned a gang/terrorism alert. ICE was called, but never responded. Despite Abrego Garcia's alleged illegal activity, various media outlets continued to refer to him as a 'Maryland man' Friday, including the Washington Post and the New York Times. Fox News contributor Guy Benson shared a screenshot of their Breaking News alerts using the phrase. Axios and USA TODAY referred to him as a 'Maryland man' or 'Maryland father' on social media.
CBS News
3 days ago
- CBS News
Recent Prosper graduates recall chaos, sickness at senior lock-in: "Dropping like flies"
Nick Wall vividly recalls the night when attendees at a Prosper senior celebration event became sick after ingesting THC-infused gummies. "It was like they were just dropping like flies," Wall told CBS News Texas. Wall joined fellow graduates Carter Gerhardt and Adam Shin in remembering the chaotic night, which left multiple students hospitalized and two classmates facing felony drug charges. Witnesses describe sudden illness CBS News Texas Wall, Gerhardt and Shin described the event as alarming and disorienting, recalling how students suddenly began collapsing or becoming violently ill. "Whenever I saw it happen, I was just a little bit confused," Gerhardt said. "I was like, 'What's going on?' I just saw a ton of people just dropping." "Some girl went up to the police officer — you could tell she was really sick," Wall said. "She was throwing up and asked the officer to call her parents. And then like more people started just getting sick." Police confirm hospitalizations, arrests According to Prosper police, the incident occurred during Prosper's Graduation Celebration — a senior lock-in event attended by students from all three district high schools. Police confirmed that at least seven students were transported to the hospital from the May event with symptoms consistent with a drug overdose. Two students — 17-year-old Kyle Muchineuta of Walnut Grove High School and 18-year-old Cesar Omana of Rock Hill High School — were arrested and charged with second-degree felonies for the manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance. Gummies allegedly purchased, shared According to arrest records, Omana allegedly purchased a package of THC-infused gummies from A&A Smoke Shop in Plano using money collected from other students. Investigators believe both Omana and Muchineuta distributed the gummies at the event. Shin, who witnessed the distribution, said he was offered the gummies but declined. "I saw most people get them at the party," Shin said, "and they asked me, you know, do you want to use this? And my mom told me, 'Don't do drugs.' So I never, ever." Smoke shop not contacted The owner of A&A Smoke Shop told CBS News Texas that neither police nor investigators have contacted him or requested surveillance footage related to the incident. Attorney defends accused student Omana's attorney, Jeremy Rosenthal, issued a statement on Friday defending his client: "Nobody feels worse about people getting sick than we do," Rosenthal said. "That said, I don't understand how purchasing something which appears to be perfectly legal, in packaging indicating it's perfectly safe, and then providing it to others is a crime at all — much less one worthy of publicly destroying the life of an 18-year-old and calling him a drug dealer." Reflection and ongoing investigation Reflecting on the night, Gerhardt said, "I think it was just a situation where a few people ruin it for everybody." As of Friday, Prosper police declined to comment on whether they have contacted A&A Smoke Shop, citing the ongoing investigation. Toxicology reports for the hospitalized students are expected as early as next week.
