The alleged crimes occurred in Madison County and were [...]]]>

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the indictment of a Muscle Shoals man in a case involving multiple property crimes. Gregory Clay Kirk, 58, of Muscle Shoals, was arrested and booked into the Madison County Jail on Thursday. His bond is set at $475,000.

The alleged crimes occurred in Madison County and were investigated by the Huntsville Police Department, the Madison Police Department, and the Attorney General’s Consumer Interest Division. Recently, Attorney General Marshall’s Consumer Interest Division presented evidence to the Madison County Grand Jury, resulting in Kirk’s indictment. Specifically, the indictment charges Kirk with 14 counts of theft of property in the first degree, one count of theft of property in the second degree, one count of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree, one count of forgery in the second degree, and one count of fraudulent use of a credit card.

If convicted of the first-degree theft charges, which are class B felonies, Kirk faces a statutory penalty of 2 to 20 years and a maximum fine of $30,000 for each count. If convicted of the second-degree theft of property, possession of a forged instrument, and forgery charges, all of which are class C felonies, Kirk faces a statutory penalty of one year and one day up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $15,000. If convicted of the fraudulent use of a credit card charge, a class D felony, Kirk faces a statutory penalty of one year and one day up to 5 years in prison and a maximum fine of $7500.

Attorney General Marshall would also like to thank the Madison County District Attorney’s office for their invaluable assistance in this case.

The Attorney General is also prosecuting Kirk in Franklin County, where he was indicted in February for one count of theft of property in the first degree based on evidence presented to the Franklin County Grand Jury by the office of Franklin County District Attorney Jeff Barksdale, who has since asked the Attorney General to handle the prosecution given the Attorney General’s investigation into the Madison County charges. If convicted, Kirk faces a statutory penalty of 2 to 20 years and a maximum fine of $30,000. Kirk was released on a $10,000 bond in that case.

Cybercrime Lab to Provide Digital Investigative and Forensic Support to Law Enforcement Investigations

MONTGOMERY – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall was joined by U.S. Attorney Louis Franklin and officials with the U.S. Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, the Alabama Fusion Center and the Alabama Office [...]]]>

Cybercrime Lab to Provide Digital Investigative and Forensic Support to Law Enforcement Investigations

MONTGOMERY – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall was joined by U.S. Attorney
Louis Franklin and officials with the U.S. Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, the Alabama Fusion Center and the
Alabama Office of Prosecution Services in announcing the establishment of a Cybercrime Lab in
the Attorney General’s Office to assist all levels of law enforcement in the state with cyber-related
investigations.
“Today, the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, with the help of our federal, state and local
partners, officially launch the Cybercrime Lab,” said Attorney General Marshall. “One of my
priorities as Attorney General is to expand the capability of this office to combat the growing
threat of cybercrime. For law enforcement, investigating cybercrime and accessing digital
evidence present real challenges. But these hurdles can be overcome when agencies work
together to combine expertise and training. The Cybercrime Lab provides cutting-edge tools to
enable our investigators to more effectively conduct online investigations of criminal activity,
ranging from child sexual exploitation and human trafficking to network intrusions and data
breaches. Equally important, the Cybercrime Lab will serve as a resource for federal, state and
local law enforcement in Alabama seeking assistance in accessing criminal evidence stored on
digital devices.

“My office has also launched a new web link for Alabama law enforcement and operators of
victimized payment card systems to report suspected debit/credit card skimming devices. This
joint effort conducted by the Alabama Focus Group on Skimming – comprised of the U.S. Secret
Service, Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, Alabama Department of
Transportation, Alabama Fusion Center, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, Alabama
Petroleum Equipment Contractors Association, the Petroleum & Convenience Marketers of
Alabama and the Alabama Attorney General’s Office – will collect information to be used to
investigate and prosecute persons involved in illegal skimming operations in the state.

“I would like to recognize and thank our federal law enforcement partners who donated many
of the high-tech tools in our Cybercrime Lab and provided expert training to our cyber agents,
especially the National Computer Forensics Institute which is proudly located in the State of
Alabama,” added Attorney General Marshall. “Thanks to their support we will be able to better
protect Alabamians.”

“Cybercrime is ever increasing and touches most people in some form,” stated Louis V.
Franklin Sr., U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama. “As the level of cybercrime
becomes more sophisticated, it is important that our investigative techniques are expansive
enough to combat these criminals. This cybercrime lab will give us extra tools in our
investigative toolbox to identify and prosecute those cyber offenders.”

“The creation of this new Cybercrime Lab at the Attorney General’s Office is great news for the
people of Alabama and we are all appreciative of the Attorney General and his commitment to
this effort,” said Barry Matson, Executive Director, Office of Prosecution Services. “This new
Cybercrime Lab will benefit victims of crime and law enforcement all across Alabama. Digital
evidence is in nearly every criminal investigation and access to skilled digital forensic
examinations is imperative. This new Cybercrime Lab will make Alabama a safer place to live
and do business.”

Over the last year, cyber agents with the Alabama Attorney General’s Office have already
assisted more than 30 agencies in cyber investigations, including unlocking cell phone evidence
in homicides, tracking down credit/debit card skimmers, and unmasking criminals behind
identity theft cases. What’s more, agents have also helped businesses and local governments
recover nearly $1 million potentially lost in cyber theft cases. The new Cybercrime Lab will
expand the ability of the Attorney General’s Office to conduct such investigative work.

MONTGOMERY—Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall applauded a recent federal appeals court decision as a victory to protect religious pro-life speech. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled in favor of an argument made by Attorney General Marshall and nine other Attorneys General that a Baltimore city ordinance unconstitutionally undermined a pregnancy [...]]]>

MONTGOMERY—Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall applauded a recent federal appeals court decision as a victory to protect religious pro-life speech. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled in favor of an argument made by Attorney General Marshall and nine other Attorneys General that a Baltimore city ordinance unconstitutionally undermined a pregnancy center’s ability to speak about and offer alternatives to abortion.

“It is unlawful, and simply wrong, for the government to force private organizations to post a message about abortion and birth control services that violate their moral convictions and interferes with their mission to provide aid to women in a manner consistent with their own religious beliefs and concerns,” said Attorney General Marshall.

The coalition of Attorneys General, in supporting the Greater Baltimore Center for Pregnancy Concerns, argued that the city ordinance unlawfully required it and other centers to post signs informing clients that the facility does not provide or refer for abortions.

The Attorneys General argued the ordinance uses consumer protection as cover to violate the First Amendment. It does so in targeting the non-commercial speech of charitable organizations who wish to communicate sincerely-held religious beliefs about abortion. The Court agreed, writing that Baltimore’s requirement forces “a politically and religiously motivated group to convey a message fundamentally at odds with its core beliefs and mission.”

Alabama joined the brief in April of 2017, along with West Virginia, Arkansas, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas and Utah.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall

MONTGOMERY – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall joined a coalition of eight state attorneys general in supporting state laws banning sanctuary cities. On Tuesday, Alabama signed onto a multi-state amicus brief siding with Texas as it appeals a federal court ruling blocking the state’s sanctuary cities ban.

“When [...]]]>

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall

MONTGOMERY – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall joined a coalition of eight state attorneys general in supporting state laws banning sanctuary cities.  On Tuesday, Alabama signed onto a multi-state amicus brief siding with Texas as it appeals a federal court ruling blocking the state’s sanctuary cities ban.

“When local officials deliberately choose to ignore the law and thereby place their citizens at risk, the result is a breakdown in the rule of law,” said Attorney General Marshall.  “This is precisely what we are witnessing with sanctuary cities and localities which prohibit or impede cooperation between federal and local officials on immigration enforcement.  Alabama supports Texas’ sanctuary cities ban because we believe individual states should have the right to prohibit sanctuary cities within their borders.”

The eight-state amicus brief opposes a federal court injunction of Texas’s ban on sanctuary cities.  Texas law requires local entities and officials to not interfere with federal immigration enforcement. It also places duties and liabilities on certain persons in the criminal justice system, provides civil penalties and creates a criminal offense for violating those provisions.

In June, Alabama was also one of ten states defending President Trump’s executive order that directs the federal government to take lawful actions to ensure compliance with laws prohibiting sanctuary cities.

Alabama joined Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina and West Virginia in filing the amicus brief with the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday evening.

A copy of the amicus brief is available via this link.

(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Steve Marshall announced he is part of a bipartisan coalition of 41 state attorneys general seeking documents and information from manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids as part of multistate investigations into the nationwide opioid epidemic.

“Opioid abuse has reached a crisis level in Alabama and in many portions of [...]]]>

(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Steve Marshall announced he is part of a bipartisan coalition of 41 state attorneys general seeking documents and information from manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids as part of multistate investigations into the nationwide opioid epidemic.

“Opioid abuse has reached a crisis level in Alabama and in many portions of the country, and earlier this year I joined with fellow attorneys general in investigating what role opioid manufacturers may have had in creating or prolonging the opioid abuse epidemic, and to establish the appropriate course of action to help solve this crisis,” Attorney General Marshall said. “Our investigation continues as we seek information from drug manufacturers and distributors to help determine whether they engaged in unlawful practices in the marketing, sale, and distribution of opioids.”

The attorneys general served investigative subpoenas for documents and information, also known as Civil Investigative Demands, on Endo, Janssen, Teva/Cephalon, Allergan, and their related entities, as well as a supplemental Civil Investigative Demand on Purdue Pharma. The attorneys general also sent information demand letters to opioid distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson requesting documents about their opioid distribution business.

Nationwide and in Alabama, opioids—prescription and illicit—are the main driver of drug overdose deaths. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioids were involved in 33,091 deaths in 2015 including 736 in Alabama, and opioid overdoses have quadrupled since 1999.

On August 8, 2017, Attorney General Marshall was appointed by Governor Kay Ivey to co-chair the newly-created Alabama Opioid Overdose and Addiction Council. The Council, which held its organizational meeting in the Alabama Attorney General’s Office on September 5, will examine the state’s opioid crisis and identify ways to reduce its harmful impact on Alabamians.

MONTGOMERY – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall welcomed the Trump Administration’s decision Tuesday to end the unlawful Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program which was implemented by an Obama administration memo in 2012.

The DACA program, which granted legal presence and work eligibility to hundreds of thousands of otherwise unlawfully present aliens, usurped [...]]]>

MONTGOMERY – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall welcomed the Trump Administration’s decision Tuesday to end the unlawful Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program which was implemented by an Obama administration memo in 2012.

The DACA program, which granted legal presence and work eligibility to hundreds of thousands of otherwise unlawfully present aliens, usurped the authority of Congress and faced legal challenge by a coalition of ten states including Alabama.

“I am proud that U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions agreed with me that the DACA program is ‘an unconstitutional exercise of authority by the Executive Branch,’” said Attorney General Marshall. “Only Congress has the authority to make U.S. immigration law.

“The Trump Administration’s action is a victory for the Constitution and the rule of law and it restores Congress’s rightful role in overseeing U.S. immigration policy. Only the Legislative Branch of the Federal government can decide whether programs like DACA should become immigration law. That question is now back in the hands of Congress.”

On June 29, 2017, Attorney General Marshall joined a coalition of ten state Attorneys General asking the Trump administration to end the unlawful DACA program by September 5, 2017, or face a legal challenge.