Montgomery Advertiser, montgomeryadvertiser.com
BYLINE: Marty Roney, Montgomery Advertiser
Tallassee, AL
(Photo: Contributed)
WETUMPKA Tallassee’s former assistant police chief has pleaded guilty to two theft related charges related to crimes while he was on duty.
Chris Miles, 41, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of property and count of burglary in Elmore County Circuit Court, courthouse records show. The theft charge related to him stealing a 9 mm. Beretta handgun from the police department’s evidence locker. The burglary charged stemmed from his setting up a burglary of a home in Tallassee, where he stole a safe, courthouse records show.
In both instances, he was on duty, said C.J. Robinson, chief assistant district attorney. Miles could not be reached for comment. His attorney, Heather Dixon, did not return emails seeking comment for this story.
Circuit Judge Sibley Reynolds will sentence Miles on April 28, courthouse records show. His state sentence will likely run concurrently with his federal sentence, said District Attorney Randall Houston.
In November, Miles pleaded guilty to federal charges of two counts of obstruction of justice, one count of deprivation of rights and one count of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, court records show. He was given a 41 month sentence on those charges and has been ordered to report to begin serving the sentence in May.
On the drug charge, Miles admitted to stealing 16 pounds of marijuana from the PD’s evidence locker and selling it to a known drug dealer, court records show. The deprivation of rights and obstruction charges came from Miles physically coercing a confession from Stephen Conrad, of Tallassee. Conrad was a suspect in a heinous child sex abuse case.
Originally the investigation led to more than 100 counts of sexual abuse, with the victims including an infant. It came out that Miles struck Conrad in the head twice with a pack of copy paper and other acts of physical abuse, Houston said. Miles was fired from the police department in 2013 after the allegations came to light.
The charges were dropped against Conrad and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency conducted another investigation which brought fewer sexual abuse charges.
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