WALKER COUNTY, AL - Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith has been arrested and indicted by a grand jury on six counts of knowingly employing four school resource officers, a jailer, and a deputy, all of whom were not certified by the Alabama Peace Officers' Standards and Training Commission (APOSTC), a requirement for each of those positions.
He is charged with six counts for assigning unqualified individuals to positions where they wore uniforms, carried weapons, carried badges, and used fully-equipped patrol vehicles, WVTM13 reported. Court documents state that events leading to the charges occurred while Smith was aware that the individuals were ineligible for certification by APOSTC.
Each of the six charges is a misdemeanor and carries up to a $1,000 fine without jail time. Chief Deputy Ralph Williams has also been arrested and indicted on one count of knowingly employing a deputy who was not APOSTC-certified as required by law, WBRC reported.
Hours after the indictment was released, Smith issued a statement. "One of the men I am charged with working as a School Resource Office received special recognition from the Walker County Board of Education for his efforts in stopping what had the potential to be a very bad situation," Smith said.
"The charges against me are administrative in nature and do not carry any jail time. However, I take these charges very seriously. The lawfare should stop. Criminal charges should not be used to try to influence national elections and criminal charges should not be used to try to influence the local sheriff's race. I intend to vigorously defend these charges," Smith added. "I did not play a role in either of the district attorney's campaigns. He should remove himself from mine."
In late February, the APOSTC issued an order unanimously decided that Deputy Andrew Neves-McDonald is "ineligible" for a law enforcement appointment in the state of Alabama as well as "training and/or certification as a law enforcement officer." Sheriff Smith hired Neves-McDonald as a sheriff deputy in 2024 and requested a Waiver of Lateral Entry Training Equivalency Training through APOSTC because of his previous law enforcement employment and certification in Arizona. APOSTC records indicate that Neves-McDonald's law enforcement certification in Arizona was suspended for cause (alleged misconduct).
The indictment states that Danny Alexander, Jeffrey Sparks, Sam Bennett, and Gregory Harrison were hired as school resource officers (SRO) and allowed to carry a gun and badge despite being ineligible to hold the SRO position. The indictment states that Justin Kelly was hired as a Walker County jailer without the required APOSTC certification, and also cites Neves-McDonald's employment as a deputy despite not having APOSTC certification.
"I have been charged with having non-APOSTC certified personnel operating vehicles and working in certain capacities while wearing Sheriff Department uniforms. There can be no doubt that the District Attorney is now charging me to help his friend's campaign for Sheriff," Smith said. "The District Attorney was made aware of employees of JC Poe working in similar capacities at the Jasper Police Department. Charges have not been pursued against him by the District Attorney."
Legal experts said that even though both law enforcement officials are facing charges, that does not necessarily mean they will be forced out of office. Both Smith and Williams can continue doing their jobs while the cases make their way through the court system. Attorney Roger Appell said that the charges don't carry any jail time, only fines.
He said he does not believe anything else will happen due to these charges being what he calls the lowest level of misdemeanors. "The maximum he could get is $1,000 fine for each case. So technically he could get a one dollar fine. He could be fined six dollars for this entire amount. I don't think there will be any other ramifications upon a conviction," Appell said.
