MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Former Clarke County Sheriff William Ray Norris, who resigned last year during an impeachment probe, was indicted on ethics and campaign finance charges, prosecutors said Friday.
Attorney General Steve Marshall said Norris, who quit in May, was charged with one count of using his office for personal gain; five counts of illegally using campaign contributions; three counts of intentionally violating reporting and disclosure requirements; and one tax evasion charge.
Court records were not immediately available to show whether Norris had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf. He surrendered at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and was released on $50,000 bond, the state said.
Prosecutors began investigating in 2020 and Norris was named in an impeachment inquiry before he resigned.
First elected in 2010, records in the impeachment case showed Norris allegedly used his office to obtain thousands of dollars from a company whose owner got about $140,000 in payments from the sheriff’s office.
Norris also was accused of filing false financial disclosure forms, and failing to file a tax return for 2019. That year, Norris failed to disclose $12,700 in contributions from 16 different sources and numerous expenditures, the state alleged.