FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
July 27, 2016
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Alabama Attorney General
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Page 1 of 1
AG STRANGE ANNOUNCES SUMTER SHERIFF REMOVED FROM
OFFICE FOLLOWING IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Luther Strange announced that the Alabama
Supreme Court today removed Sumter County Sheriff Tyrone Clark Sr. from office,
following impeachment proceedings this week in which his office presented evidence of
grave wrongdoing by the Sheriff. “Justice has been served,” the Attorney General stated.
“Alabamians rightfully expect their public officials to conduct their duties of office
honestly and in accordance with the law,” said Attorney General Strange. “When public
officials are also sworn to uphold the law, as in the case of a sheriff, there is an even higher
expectation that they will abide by their oath.
“Today, the Alabama Supreme Court upheld impeachment charges, initiated by
Sumter County District Attorney Greg Griggers, reported by the Sumter County grand jury,
and prosecuted by the Office of the Attorney General, against Sumter County Sheriff
Tyrone Clark Sr. Sheriff Clark was found guilty of willful neglect of duty and corruption in
office and removed from his office of sheriff of Sumter County.”
In a unanimous per curiam opinion, the Alabama Supreme Court found Clark guilty
of willful neglect of duty and corruption in office. A majority of the justices found him
guilty of all specifications as alleged. The entire Court found Clark guilty of the following
specifications charged in the information: specifications 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8 of Charge 1,
and specifications 1, 2, and 3 of Charge 2.
Any possible criminal proceedings against Clark would be brought separately from
the impeachment.
“I am proud of the men and women of the Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions
Division in securing the impeachment of Sheriff Clark,” said Attorney General Strange.
“Public Corruption is a top priority of my office.”
Attorney General Strange thanked District Attorney Greg Griggers of the 17th
Judicial Circuit and Beau Brown of the Alabama Office of Prosecution Services for their
valuable assistance. He commended Assistant Attorney General Megan Kirkpatrick,
Deputy Attorney General Mike Duffy, and the Special Agents of the Attorney General’s
Special Prosecutions Division for their outstanding work in this case.
–30–
501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.state.al.us E-Filed
06/30/2016 @ 09:06:16 AM
Honorable Julia Jordan Weller
Clerk Of The Court
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF ALABAMA
STATE OF ALABAMA )
)
) Case No. __
v. )
)
)
TYRONE CLARK, SR., )
Defendant. )
INFORMATION OF IMPEACHMENT AND PRAYER FOR OUSTER
To the Honorable Chief Justice and Associate Justices
of the Supreme Court of Alabama:
Comes now the State of Alabama by and through its
Attorney General, under Ala. Code ß 36-11-4 & -5, and
charges by way of information that the Defendant, Sheriff
Tyrone Clark, Sr., did, throughout his present term of
office beginning in January 2015, willfully neglect his
duty and engage in corruption while in office, in violation
of Ala. Code ß 36-11-1 and Ala. Const. art. VII, ß 173 &
174, as charged below:
CHARGE ONE
WILLFUL NEGLECT OF DUTY
Sheriff Clark has, during his present term of office,
been guilty of willful neglect of duty based on
Specifications 1 through 9 below.
1
SPECIFICATION 1:
Sheriff Tyrone Clark, while serving in his official
capacity, willfully neglected his duty to secure and
supervise inmates in his custody under Ala. Code ß 14-6-1
when he made Rodney Coats, an inmate in the Sumter County
Jail, a trustee. Coats had an extensive criminal history
for drug-related offenses, and he was placed in jail under
these criminal charges: Trafficking in Cocaine, Trafficking
in Methamphetamine, Possession of a Controlled Substance,
Possession of Marijuana First Degree, Receiving Stolen
Property Second Degree, Certain Persons Forbidden to
Possess a Pistol, Assault First Degree, and Possession of
Drug Paraphernalia. His bond for these charges totaled
$675,000.00.
When he made Coats a trustee, Sheriff Clark gave Coats
privileges, including allowing him to move freely about
both the Jail and Administration Buildings of the Sumter
County Sheriff’s Office and allowing Coats to leave the
Jail, sometimes without law enforcement oversight.
This occurred against the peace and dignity of the
State of Alabama.
2
SPECIFICATION 2:
Sheriff Tyrone Clark, while serving in his official
capacity, willfully neglected his duty to prevent the
introduction of contraband into the Jail and supervise the
inmates housed therein under Ala. Code ßß 14-6-1 and 13A-
10-37 and -38. Specifically, Sheriff Clark aided Rodney
Coats in bringing contraband into the Sumter County Jail by
ordering the Sumter County Detention Officers not to search
Coats when he would return to the Jail after being outside
of the Jail and free of law enforcement oversight. This
contraband included controlled substances, cell phones, and
cigarettes.
Sheriff Clark also protected Coats from “shake downs”
performed by the Sumter County Jail Staff, as well as “drug
sweeps” at the Jail by outside law enforcement agencies, by
removing him from the Jail or instructing Jail staff to
leave Coats alone.
Furthermore, Sheriff Clark allowed Coats to receive
visitors at the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office
Administrative Building who were not searched or subjected
to any security measures before meeting with Coats. These
visitors were also allowed to access the Sumter County
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Sheriff’s Office Administrative Building through an
entrance that was not monitored by surveillance cameras.
This occurred against the peace and dignity of the
State of Alabama.
SPECIFICATION 3:
Sheriff Tyrone Clark, while serving in his official
capacity, willfully neglected his duty under Ala. Code
ß 14-6-1 to supervise the inmates in the Sumter County Jail
and prevent inmates from possessing a deadly weapon under
Ala. Code ß 13A-10-36 by allowing Rodney Coats to have
access to firearms, even though Coats had pending charges
for Assault First Degree and Certain Persons Forbidden from
Possessing a Handgun.
This occurred against the peace and dignity of the
State of Alabama.
SPECIFICATION 4:
Sheriff Tyrone Clark, while serving in his official
capacity, willfully neglected his duty under Ala. Code
ß 14-6-16 to safely preserve the process or order by which
prisoners are committed to jail by permitting Rodney Coats,
himself an inmate, to process prisoners.
4
This occurred against the peace and dignity of the
State of Alabama.
SPECIFICATION 5:
Sheriff Tyrone Clark, while serving in his official
capacity, willfully neglected his duty under Ala. Code
ß 14-6-1 to maintain custody of inmate Ronald James.
Sheriff Clark gave James, who was serving a 10-year
sentence, split to serve 14 months, for the violent offense
of Burglary Second Degree, a “jail pass.” This allowed
James to leave the custody of the Sumter County Jail for
extended periods of time, endangering the safety of the
victim involved in the case for which James was
incarcerated, as well as endangering the safety of the
residents of Sumter County.
This occurred against the peace and dignity of the
State of Alabama.
SPECIFICATION 6:
Sheriff Tyrone Clark, while serving in his official
capacity, willfully neglected his duty under Ala. Code
ß 14-6-1 to maintain custody of inmate James Markell Bell.
Sheriff Clark also failed to swear out an arrest warrant,
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apprehend, or arrest Bell after Bell escaped from the
Sumter County Jail in violation of Ala. Code ß 13A-10-32.
This occurred against the peace and dignity of the
State of Alabama.
SPECIFICATION 7:
Sheriff Tyrone Clark, while serving in his official
capacity, willfully neglected his duty to supervise jail
inmates and secure the Jail under Ala. Code ß 14-6-1 by
giving inmate Rodney Coats access to an unsecured room in
the administration building, where Coats had sexual
intercourse with female visitors. The visitors were never
searched, and the entrance to the room was not monitored by
cameras or otherwise.
This occurred against the peace and dignity of the
State of Alabama.
SPECIFICATION 8:
Sheriff Tyrone Clark, while serving in his official
capacity, willfully neglected his duty to supervise jail
inmates, secure the Jail, and enforce the law under Ala.
Code ßß 14-6-1 and 36-22-3 when he provided an environment
in the Administration Building that allowed Rodney Coats to
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engage in Human Trafficking in the Second Degree, in
violation of Ala. Code ß 13A-6-153(a)(2).
This occurred against the peace and dignity of the
State of Alabama.
SPECIFICATION 9:
Sheriff Tyrone Clark, while serving in his official
capacity, willfully neglected his duty to properly appoint
and supervise deputies under Ala. Code ß 36-22-3 when he
appointed Johnny Archibald a deputy sheriff and directed
Archibald to patrol on his own, even though Archibald had
not been certified as a law enforcement officer by the
Alabama Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission,
in violation of Ala. Admin. Code 650-X-2-.01.
This occurred against the peace and dignity of the
State of Alabama.
CHARGE TWO
CORRUPTION IN OFFICE
Sheriff Tyrone Clark has, during his present term of
office, been guilty of corruption in office based on
Specifications 1 through 3 below.
SPECIFICATION 1:
Sheriff Tyrone Clark, while serving in his official
capacity, used his official position or office to benefit
7
himself by personally and privately employing inmates of
the Sumter County Jail, namely Rodney Coats and Glenn
Brown, in violation of Ala. Code ßß 14-5-11 and 36-25-5.
Among other things, Sheriff Clark directed Coats and Brown
to perform work at his personal home.
This occurred against the peace and dignity of the
State of Alabama.
SPECIFICATION 2:
Sheriff Tyrone Clark, while serving in his official
capacity, used his official position or office to benefit
himself by operating an undocumented work release program,
wherein he allowed inmates from the Sumter County Jail to
be released for the purpose of working for individuals
and/or businesses on the condition that the inmates pay
Sheriff Clark a portion of their wages, in violation of
Ala. Code ßß 36-22-16 and 14-8-37.
This occurred against the peace and dignity of the
State of Alabama.
SPECIFICATION 3:
Sheriff Tyrone Clark, while serving in his official
capacity, attempted to use his official position or office
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to coerce a female employee to have sexual intercourse with
him.
This occurred against the peace and dignity of the
State of Alabama.
Respectfully submitted this 30th day of June, 2016.
LUTHER STRANGE
ATTORNEY GENERAL
/s/ Megan A. Kirkpatrick
Megan A. Kirkpatrick
Assistant Attorney General
mkirkpatrick@ago.state.al.us
OF COUNSEL:
Michael B. Duffy
Deputy Attorney General
mduffy@ago.state.al.us
Beau Brown
Deputy Attorney General
Beau.brown@alabamada.gov
Office of the Attorney General
State of Alabama
501 Washington Avenue
P.O. Box 300152
Montgomery, AL 36130
(334) 353-2128
9
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
In lieu of service under Ala. R. App. P. 31, the State
respectfully requests that the Court serve Sheriff Tyrone
Clark directly, as set forth in Ala. Code ß 36-11-9.
LUTHER STRANGE
ATTORNEY GENERAL
/s/ Megan A. Kirkpatrick
Megan A. Kirkpatrick
Assistant Attorney General
mkirkpatrick@ago.state.al.us
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