Grady Keith Concord, Methamphetamine Extortion, Alabama 2013

A former Winston County sheriff's deputy has been brought to justice after pleading guilty to using his police authority to extort a woman to cook methamphetamine.

Grady Keith Concord, 42, of Lynn, entered his guilty pleas before U.S. District Judge Abdul K Kallon to one count of extortion under color of official right, one count of manufacturing methamphetamine, and one count of manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine on premises where children are present or reside.

The crime took place in July 2013, when Concord approached a woman living in the town of Nauvoo and pressured her to manufacture methamphetamine for him. He used the illegal drug and arranged to supply the woman with pseudoephedrine, a necessary ingredient of methamphetamine, in exchange for a portion of the finished product.

Concord disputes the woman's claim that he threatened her with an arrest warrant unless she agreed to the arrangement, but he concedes that because he was a sheriff's deputy, she may have felt that she 'had no choice but to accept his offer,' he acknowledged in his plea agreement with the government.

On several occasions between July 2013 and June 2014, Concord delivered pseudoephedrine to the woman's home, where she manufactured the methamphetamine, and where he picked up the illegal drug. He obtained decongestant pills containing pseudoephedrine from the sheriff's office evidence room, and he and his wife both bought the pills, according to his plea.

Concord acknowledged that he knew the woman had two sons who lived with her, and that one of them was a minor. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the extortion count and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine on the count of manufacturing methamphetamine.

As part of Concord's plea agreement, he must surrender all law enforcement certifications and not seek future employment in law enforcement or custodial oversight, including as a correctional or probation officer or bail bondsman.

The FBI, State Bureau of Investigation, agents of the Lauderdale County Drug Task Force assigned to the FBI's Safe Streets Task Force, the Winston/Marion County District Attorney's Office, with the cooperation of the Winston County Sheriff's Office and the Lynn Police Department, investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tamarra Matthews Johnson is prosecuting the case.

Mandatory facts: Defendant, Grady Keith Concord, was charged with extortion under color of official right, manufacturing methamphetamine, and manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine on premises where children are present or reside. The crime took place in July 2013. The sentence is pending.

Dollar amounts: $250,000 fine on the extortion count, $1 million fine on the count of manufacturing methamphetamine, and $2 million fine on the count of manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine on premises where children are present or reside.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndal/pr/former-winston-county-deputy-pleads-guilty-extorting-manufacture-methamphetamine