HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — UPDATE: Feb. 10, 2023 New court documents detail the charges faced by Huntsville City Councilman Devyn Keith after recent arrests for suspicion of shoplifting. Court records show four cases pending for charges of Theft of Property 4th Degree - Under $500.
The dates of the suspected shoplifting are:
- University Drive Walmart, 11/14/22 (Groceries and sundry items)
- Sparkman Drive Walmart, 11/15/22 (Groceries and sundry items)
- 3031 Memorial Pkwy Walmart, 12/28/22 (Groceries and sundry items)
- University Drive Walmart, 2/2/2023 (Headphones)
In each case, the value of items listed was under $500.
Keith's first court appearance is scheduled for mid-March.
UPDATE: Feb. 9. 2023
Councilman Devyn Keith speaks at the Huntsville City Council meeting before recusing himself from the remainder of the meeting. He stated that people can still call him and email him and he will be accountable to them as their District 1 representative, but does not want to be a distraction to the council's actions and the city's business.
WATCH: Councilman Keith full statement
UPDATE: Feb. 8, 2023
Huntsville City Councilman Devyn Keith was booked into the Madison County Jail early Wednesday morning after warrants were issued for four additional suspected shoplifting charges. He left on bond less than an hour later.
Keith was previously arrested on suspicion of shoplifting from the University Drive Walmart on February 2, 2023.
In a statement this afternoon on his Facebook page, he said:
At advice of my legal counsel, I will no longer be discussing my ongoing litigation.
I have received a court date and I will give my final statement at tomorrow’s city council meeting.
More importantly…know that I love you all and I thank God for you.
The City of Huntsville Office of the City Attorney released the following statement with regard to moving Devyn Keith's case from Municipal Court to the District Attorney's office:
“The prosecution of the case is now being handled by the Madison County District Court, thereby eliminating any perception of, or potential for, conflict of interest.
As Devyn Keith is a member of the Huntsville City Council, and as the City Council is directly involved with many aspects of Huntsville’s Municipal Court operations, the Municipal Judges and prosecutorial staff of the City Attorney’s office elected to recuse themselves from the case.
On Monday, Feb. 6, the City Attorney filed a motion to ‘nolle prosequi without prejudice’ in the one criminal case which had been filed in Municipal Court. This motion was not a dismissal of the criminal charge pending against Mr. Keith, but a necessary procedural step to facilitate the transfer of the prosecution of the criminal charge from the Municipal Court to Madison County District Court. This jurisdictional transfer will assure that the Municipal Court and the prosecutorial staff of the City Attorney’s office remain neutral and detached from Mr. Keith’s case.”
PREVIOUS STORY:
Statement from Councilman Devyn Keith:
Yesterday, after purchasing items at the self-checkout at Walmart, I left the store with a 20$ pair of headphones in my cart that I failed to pay for. I respect the professionalism of the Walmart staff and law enforcement officers involved with this matter.
I can’t express how grateful I am to have family, friends, and loved ones that have supported me, but I have to be accountable. No one is above the law and as someone who works for and aspires to devotedly represent the best of the people of Huntsville, I can’t make these type of mistakes. I know I am better than this.
To my D1 family, my only goal has always been to bring light to how truly amazing you are. I apologize… I am truly sorry that this time my actions have taken the spotlight off of you and placed the focus onto me. It won’t happen again.
To my greater Huntsville family and friends. I am just as sorry. I’ll work to meet the standards you’ve come to expect from me moving forward and I promise to be more responsible in the future.
Devyn Keith
--------------
Previous stories:
UPDATE: Madison County jail records show that Councilman Keith was released at 5:34 p.m. FOX54 will continue to follow up on this developing story.
Previous story:
Huntsville City Councilman Devyn Keith has been arrested on suspicion of shoplifting.
According to Huntsville Police, officers were at the University Drive Walmart on an unrelated call when "officers were notified of a suspected shoplifter."
Keith was taken into custody without incident and booked into the Madison County jail. He is suspected of of Theft of Property 4th - Shoplifting ($500 or less), a Class A misdemeanor.
The City of Huntsville released the following statement:
The City of Huntsville is aware of the situation. Huntsville Police are handling this case in accordance with standard practices and procedures.
Keith was first elected in 2016 and reelected in 2020. He served as City Council President in 2018 and 2019.
We have reached out to Huntsville Police for additional information.
This is a developing story.