Jarvis Moore says his arrest is an act of retaliation.
An Alabama jail officer in Morgan County is speaking out after being arrested and hit with felony charges over allegations he extorted inmates for their personal poperty.
Jarvis Moore says he was fired over stolen honey buns.
Moore, a 24-year veteran of the Morgan County jail, turned himself in on Feb. 13, WAFF reports. Moore denies the allegations and believes his arrest was an act of retaliation from the jail following a leaked video of a man who died in jail custody.
Sheriff Ron Puckett said the charges stem strictly from Moore’s conduct. According to Moore’s attorney, Scott Morro, the items that Moore is accused of stealing are not specified in the indictments. Neither are specific threats.
Moore, who said he is diabetic and doesn’t even eat honey buns, “[just wants] the people to know that I didn’t do this. And it is killing me to be plastered all over the world that I am this and I’m that and I am not that.”
Moore faces seven extortion counts following an August investigation, with court records alleging he threatened inmates to obtain their personal property. Moore claims he was told in September he was being fired over stolen honey buns, though Puckett said the case goes far beyond snack cakes.
Moore said jail policy allowed officers to confiscate commissary from inmates who misbehaved and redistribute it to those with good conduct, saying the practice had existed for years. Morro said honey buns are often seized because they can be used to make homemade alcohol in jail and are typically taken when inmates possess excessive items.
Moore claims his firing and arrest were retaliatory. He says he was accused of leaking surveillance footage showing John Scott Jr. being dragged inside the jail before Scott’s death in custody last April. He added he was repeatedly passed over for promotion to lieutenant and that his arrest came weeks after he endorsed Ana Franklin for sheriff.
Puckett disputed those claims, saying Moore was interviewed twice for the role but never selected. He denied any retaliation. “It was a result of the actions of Mr. Moore’s hands,” Puckett added.
The felony charges have made it difficult for Moore to keep a job. After leaving Morgan County, he briefly worked at the Madison County jail but was terminated following his arrest because he was still on probationary status.
Moore is scheduled to appear before a judge on May 27.
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Source: Black Enterprise
