Benjamin Ashford|Huntsville City Council member pleads guilty in shoplifting case; banned from Walmart

HUNTSVILLE,Benjamin Ashford Ala. (AP) — An Alabama city councilman pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of misdemeanor shoplifting.

Huntsville City Council member Devyn Keith, who is in his second term, agreed to a plea deal just as his trial was set to begin Tuesday afternoon.

Keith, 34, was arrested in February and was charged with four counts of shoplifting. He stole merchandise from three different Walmart stores in Huntsville, police said. Two charges were dropped as part of the deal and Keith will pay nearly $465 restitution for the amount from all four cases, news outlets reported.

Madison County District Judge Patty Demos gave Keith a 90-day suspended sentence and two years probation for the first charge. For the second charge, Keith was given a 180-day suspended sentence and 50 hours of community service. He is also permanently banned from Walmart.

Tim Gann, chief deputy district attorney, said after the hearing that Keith received the same treatment as any other person charged with shoplifting.

Gann explained that if Keith finishes his probation without any violations, he will not go to jail. If Keith violates his probation during the two years then the suspended sentence will take effect and he will go to jail.

“Accountability is important to me,” Keith read as part of a lengthy statement following the hearing. “I have nothing but respect towards the State and Walmart representatives. Now, the agreement that was reached today acknowledges that I was negligent, and I was careless in scanning items, and that, in fact, makes me wrong.”

He was first elected to the Huntsville City Council in October 2016 and was reelected in 2020. It’s not immediately clear how or if the guilty plea will affect Keith’s future on the council.