J. Keith McCray, Deprivation of Rights and Witness Tampering, Alabama 2013

Macon County, Alabama, Resident Faces Federal Charges After Unlawfully Detaining and Assaulting Handcuffed Man

Macon County, Alabama – A Macon County Sheriff’s investigator is facing federal charges for violating the rights of a man he unlawfully seized and assaulted, announced U.S. Attorney George L. Beck, Jr. for the Middle District of Alabama.

J. Keith McCray, 41, a criminal investigator with the Macon County Sheriff’s Office, is charged with two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law and one count of witness tampering, according to a federal indictment.

The indictment alleges that McCray, on July 4, 2013, unlawfully seized the victim using a firearm while the victim was going door-to-door in McCray’s neighborhood selling alarm systems. McCray then took the victim to jail, where he struck the victim while the victim 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, Beck said.

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.

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

The 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.

Contact:

Clark Morris, USAALM.Press@usdoj.gov, (334) 551-1755, (334) 223-7617

Related Federal Cases