Macon County Sheriff’s Investigator Indicted For Unlawfully Detaining And Assaulting Handcuffed Man At County Jail

Montgomery, Alabama - J. Keith McCray, a criminal investigator with the Macon County Sheriff’s Office was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama for violating the rights of a man he unlawfully seized and assaulted, announce George L. Beck, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama.

McCray, 41, is charged with two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law and one count of witness tampering. On July 4, 2013, the victim was going door to door in McCray’s neighborhood attempting to sell alarm systems. According to the indictment, McCray unlawfully seized the victim using a firearm. McCray then took the victim to jail. At the jail, McCray struck the victim while he was handcuffed, resulting in bodily injury. The indictment further alleges that McCray engaged in witness tampering when he intimidated the victim and corruptly persuaded him not to file a complaint for the assault.

If convicted, McCray could face a maximum sentence of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each deprivation-of-rights charge. He could face a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the witness tampering charge. McCray=s trial is yet to be scheduled.

An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Alabama Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerusha T. Adams of the Middle District of Alabama and Trial Attorney Chiraag Bains of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

PRESS CONTACT: Clark Morris
Email: usaalm.press@usdoj.gov
Telephone: (334) 551-1755
Fax: (334) 223-7617