Published: Sunday, July 24, 2016
The impeachment trial of Sumter County Sheriff Tyrone Clark is scheduled to begin in Montgomery on Monday.
Sumter County Sheriff Tyrone Clark
has remained in office since allegations surfaced in April that he allowed inmates to sell drugs, leave the facility and have sex with visitors.
The Alabama Supreme Court will hear evidence at a trial scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. in the Supreme Court chambers.
Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange’s office began proceedings to impeach Clark on June 30. A Sumter County grand jury that met in April returned a report recommending Clark’s impeachment, citing several alleged instances of corruption and neglect of duty.
Clark is facing no criminal charges, but the FBI is conducting an ongoing criminal investigation after raiding the Sumter County Jail in Livingston in March.
The grand jury found that Clarke allowed inmate Rodney Coats to have special privileges.
Coats was in jail on charges of cocaine trafficking and methamphetamine trafficking, possessing a controlled substance, first-degree possession of marijuana, second-degree receiving stolen property, being a felon in possession of a firearm, first-degree assault and possession of drug paraphernalia.
His bond was set at $675,000.
The grand jury found that the sheriff allowed Coats to move freely inside the jail and administration building and, at times, to leave the jail without law enforcement oversight. The sheriff is also accused of giving Coats access to guns and a room where he had sex with female visitors.