A Mobile County judge ruled Thursday that prosecutors presented enough evidence to send bribery and extortion charges against two Prichard police officers to a grand jury, the latest development in a widening corruption investigation into the department.
Mobile County District Judge George Zoghby found probable cause to bind over charges against Emanuel Naman Dotch II, 50, and Jihad Hasan Irby, 36, following a preliminary hearing. Both men are charged with two counts each of bribery and first-degree extortion, along with use of their official position for personal gain. Dotch also faces separate federal charges, including allegations that he tried to frame an Atlanta lawyer and his driver on bogus drug charges; a federal judge has postponed that trial until the October court term. Both men have pleaded not guilty to the state charges.
According to testimony from Mobile County Sheriff’s Office investigator Joshua Coleman, the case stems from a May 16 incident outside the Tree BBQ & Lounge in downtown Prichard, where Dotch and Irby were working off-duty as private security when a fight broke out. Two men, identified in testimony only as “J.D.” and his cousin “M.W.,” were briefly detained. Coleman testified that J.D. offered the officers $1,000 to let him and his cousin go, even though both were subject to arrest — J.D. for allegedly violating the conditions of a pretrial release on a federal case, and M.W. on outstanding felony warrants. Investigators say Dotch accepted the money and split it with Irby, then let both men go.
Coleman testified that about 10 days later, Dotch contacted J.D. again and demanded an additional $400, telling him a third officer was upset about being cut out of the payoff. Investigators working with a Homeland Security Investigations task force arranged a “controlled delivery” and recorded Dotch accepting the additional cash on video. Coleman testified that Dotch later confessed, while Irby acknowledged being present at the scene but denied any knowledge of a bribery scheme.
Attorneys for both defendants pushed back on the state’s case. Irby’s attorney, Louis Coaxum III, argued that investigators had not obtained body camera footage from the scene and questioned whether the case rested largely on the account of a man he described as a felon on federal probation who had been drinking and fighting that night. Dotch’s attorney, Stewart Hanley, echoed that argument, calling the testimony against his client “a little vague and general” and noting that higher-ranking officers, including a major and lieutenants, were also present that night. “The idea that my client is making decisions on who’s detained and released and arrested with these other officers there, I think is a little absurd,” Hanley said.
Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood said he remains confident in the strength of the evidence, pointing to the videotaped cash handoff and corroborating statements as more than the word of one witness. “I think the fact that you had police officers on duty that were accepting bribes does undermine public confidence in law enforcement,” Blackwood said. “That’s why it’s so important to prosecute cases like this, to restore that trust.”
Dotch and Irby are among several current and former Prichard officers who have faced charges as part of a broader corruption investigation into the department, which has also led to charges against former Police Chief Walter Knight, Maj. Aaron Tucker and Capt. Michael Knight over allegations of double-dipping while working funeral escort and private security jobs. Because of the investigation and other arrests within the department, the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office has taken over law enforcement duties in Prichard, and a grand jury has recommended the city abolish its police department. Blackwood said the investigation is ongoing and additional charges are possible. “We’re continuing to work this investigation,” he said. “It is not over. I do expect further charges.”