LANETT, Ala. (AP) — An east Alabama mayor was arrested Tuesday after being indicted on felony ethics charges.
Lanett Mayor Jonathon Kyle McCoy was arrested on three charges of using his official position or office for personal gain. McCoy, 56, surrendered at the Chambers County jail Tuesday morning. His bond was set at $30,000.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a news release that an indictment accuses McCoy of letting a family member use a 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe owned by the city. The indictment also charges the mayor with using his position to obtain extensions or waivers of $43,302 in utility charges and using a city account to make personal purchases valued at more than $643.
McCoy denied the allegations in a statement Tuesday and said he plans to fight the charges.
“Today the Attorney General’s Office and others have made an attempt to destroy my character, embarrass the City, my family, and the Citizens of Lanett, by bringing criminal charges against me,” McCoy’s statement said. “I emphatically deny any wrongdoing.”
If convicted McCoy faces a maximum penalty of between two and 20 years in prison and a $30,000 fine for each of the three counts, which are class B felonies.