Local Blogger Sentenced to Probation Following Guilty Plea on Emergency Management Ethics Charges

By | April 8, 2021
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A local blogger and bail bondsman pleaded guilty to using his office for personal gain while he was an employee of the Dothan-Houston County Emergency Management Association on Wednesday.

The Alabama Ethics Commission advanced an ethics complaint filed against Rickey Stokes, owner of Rickey Stokes News and A-Advantage Bonding in Dothan, to the attorney general’s office in December 2019.

The complaint filed earlier that year against Stokes says that he used his EMA position and equipment, including his county vehicle, for personal gain while operating his businesses.
 

Stokes, the former EMA chief of staff, contended at the time that he did not break any laws.

The case was forwarded to the Houston County District Judge Benjamin Lewis in February of this year on a misdemeanor charge.

Lewis ordered Stokes to pay a $500 fine and sentenced him to six months’ probation during an arraignment hearing on Wednesday, according to court records.

According to WTVY, Stokes pleaded guilty to avoid felony charges from the attorney general’s office.

Stokes also pleaded guilty to reckless driving earlier this year in Washington County, Florida.