FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
August 13, 2018
For More Information, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Steve Marshall
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Page 1 of 1
Alabama Attorney General
AG Steve Marshall Announces 10-year Prison Sentences
for Former Prattville Policeman, Leon Todd Townson
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that former Prattville policeman Leon
Todd Townson has been sentenced to serve 10 years in the Alabama Department of Corrections. Townson was sentenced this morning in Autauga County Circuit Court. Another former Prattville policeman who is a co-defendant in a related case, John Wayne McDaniel Jr., is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday.
Townson, 51, of Prattville, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for insurance fraud in the first degree, 10
years in prison for conspiracy to commit first-degree burglary, and three years in prison for third-degree
burglary, all to run concurrently. Additionally, he was ordered to pay $203,307.20 in restitution to TravelersInsurance for defrauding the company.
On July 23, Townson pleaded guilty to the crimes involving breaking into a house in Autauga County
and conspiring with his Co-Defendants to break into another house and defrauding Travelers Insurance by filing false information on a claim that allowed him to obtain $190,000 in insurance proceeds. Townson had claimed property was stolen from his former business, River Region Coin and Collectibles, but some of the property was not stolen as he reported and was subsequently recovered from his residence during a law enforcement search.
A co-defendant in the burglary conspiracy, Raymond Douglas McCray, was also sentenced this
morning to 10 years which was suspended for three years of probation. McCray, 18, of Montgomery, pleaded guilty on July 24, 2017, to conspiracy to commit first-degree burglary.
John Wayne McDaniel Jr., 49, and also from Prattville, pleaded guilty on October 30, 2017 to conspiracy
to commit burglary and to third-degree burglary for his role in the crimes. On that same date he also pleaded guilty to two other previous felony charges unrelated to the burglary charges: second-degree theft of property of prescription medicine from a local pharmacy and criminal impersonation of a law enforcement officer. McDaniel’s sentencing was continued to Friday, August 17, where the State also intends to oppose probation in his cases.
“The actions of these former officers are a sad betrayal of the public’s trust and an offense to all who
honorably serve in law enforcement to protect the people,” said Attorney General Marshall. “This case sends a strong message that no one is above the law and that justice will be delivered.”
Attorney General Marshall commended Assistant Attorney General John Kachelman of the Attorney
General’s Criminal Trials Division for his work in bringing this case to a successful conclusion. He also
commended Special Agents of his Investigations Division, and thanked the Prattville Police Department for their exemplary work in the investigation and prosecution of these cases.
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501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.state.al.us
