Lee County DA now faces charges in 2 counties

LEE COUNTY, Ala. (WSFA) - Lee County District Attorney Brandon Hughes, 46, has been charged with a single perjury count in Montgomery County and has turned himself in to the Montgomery County Jail.

He surrendered late Monday afternoon and bail was set at $2,500. According to the indictment, Hughes gave false statements to the Alabama Ethics Commission.

Less than 24 hours prior to Monday’s arrest, Hughes was booked in the Lee County Jail for seven ethics violations.

Richard White, Hughes' defense attorney, is new to the case, but said while he couldn’t speak to the specific counts, his client is innocent and looking for to his day in court.

An investigative Lee County grand jury found probable cause and indicted Hughes Friday on multiple ethics violations, including five counts of using a public position for personal gain, one count of conspiracy to commit theft, and one count of perjury.

The indictment accuses Hughes of using public funds to pay private attorneys to settle a matter that benefited him and his wife. Hughes is also accused of illegally hiring his children and issuing a subpoena to a private business to gather evidence for his potential criminal defense.

The indictment says Hughes also conspired to steal a pickup truck from a business in Chambers County by using a Lee County search warrant to force the business to release the truck and provided false testimony to a special grand jury.

The five violations of the state ethics act charged in the indictment are Class B felonies, each punishable by two to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $30,000. The conspiracy charges to commit first-degree theft and first-degree perjury are Class C felonies, each punishable by one year and one day to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.

First-degree perjury is a Class C felony punishable by one to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.

Hughes was expected to release a statement about his case sometime Monday. Prior to his arrest in Montgomery, he was out of jail in Lee County on a $31,000 bond.

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