New Info in Brett Mitchell Case

Mitchell Looking Amused at his Booking

There is new information in the Reginald Brett Mitchell case. Mitchell, 51, was arrested on Saturday, May 28th, on the felony charge of providing a false statement to law enforcement and also the misdemeanor charge of tampering with evidence. The ECM employee was released on ten thousand dollars bail a short time after his arrest. His defense attorney Tim Case has stated that Mitchell is innocent of the charges, and a Lauderdale County judge allegedly remarked the case against Mitchell was weak.

The false statement? At this time we have no firm idea what that might have entailed. The evidence tampering? Now this is where it gets interesting.

While the indictment specifically states that Mitchell destroyed evidence on a cell phone, we’ve learned that he was observed by a member of the Lauderdale Drug Task Force as he tossed a cell phone into a dumpster. Yes, we said drug task force. Apparently Mitchell, Chip Dillard, and Tim Staggs were under surveillance, and not simply because of the human trafficking allegations.

Obviously this would tie in with earlier allegations that Dillard was supplying Lauderdale Detention Center inmates with drugs. So why haven’t drug charges been filed against the trio? Or at least Dillard? Again, we can only speculate, but the human trafficking charges were investigated and initiated by the Alabama Attorney General’s office; the allegations of drug/contraband smuggling were obviously being investigated by county law enforcement. In other words, these charges may be forthcoming at any time.

Brett Mitchell’s arraignment will be Thursday, June 23rd. John Louis Kachelman III, assistant attorney general, will be prosecuting. The Kachelman family is well known in the Montgomery area, both for their civic endeavors and Christian outreach. If Mitchell doesn’t enter a plea, the trial should be quite interesting. What would someone like Mr. Kachelman make of someone like Mitchell? Hmmm, we may even print tickets.