BIRMINGHAM—A federal grand jury indicted a Huntsville police officer in connection with a conspiracy to fix cocaine trafficking charges against an individual arrested by another Huntsville officer, officials announced Tuesday.
A four-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges Lewis Bernard Hall, 45, of Meridianville, Alabama with conspiracy, bribery, obstruction of justice and making a false statement to investigators.
Hall’s arrest put other unrelated criminal cases in jeopardy, according to attorneys.
According to the indictment, here are the alleged facts and circumstances surrounding this case:
- Hall conspired with someone identified in the indictment as “Individual B” to pay a fellow police officer $5,000 if that officer would claim his July 29 vehicle search that resulted in drug-trafficking charges against “Individual A” was unlawful, thereby making the criminal case against Individual A go away.
- The Huntsville officer who conducted the vehicle search and, subsequently, assisted in the investigation of Hall is identified in the indictment as “Cooperating Officer.”
- According to the indictment’s conspiracy count, on July 31, Hall and Individual B discussed offering the Cooperating Officer a bribe to tell other law enforcement officers that his search of Individual A’s vehicle, which uncovered about three ounces of cocaine, was unlawful.
- Hall offered the bribe to the Cooperating Officer on July 31, paid him $1,000 on Aug. 12, and had two follow-up conversations in November about what the officer was supposed to say when asked about the search of Individual A’s vehicle, the indictment states.
- The bribery count charges Hall with offering the bribe to an agent of the City of Huntsville and its police department, which received more than $10,000 in federal benefits within one year, to influence the Cooperating Officer in how he reported the July 29 vehicle search.
The obstruction of justice count charges Hall with offering the bribe with the intent to delay or prevent the reporting of a felony or possible felony offense and the violation of conditions of supervised release by Individual A, officials said.
The false statement count charges Hall with knowingly making a false statement to an FBI agent on Dec. 8, saying he did not give money to the Cooperating Officer in connection with that officer’s reporting of his search of Individual A’s vehicle, according to authorities.
If convicted on all charges, Hall is facing a long prison sentence:
- The maximum penalty for both the conspiracy and the false statement charges is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
- The maximum penalty for the bribery count is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and the maximum for the obstruction count is 20 years in prison and a $250,000.
Hall is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The FBI investigated the case in conjunction with the Huntsville Police Department.