MOBILE, Ala. – Former Jackson County Sheriff Mike Byrd was sentenced Tuesday to six months house arrest, followed by six months of probation, and fined $3,000 for federal charges, including witness tampering.
The case began June 2012 after a high speed car chase with John Mark Stahl that ended in Alabama. Byrd admitted kicking Stahl while he was handcuffed and then telling a deputy to erase dashboard camera video of the arrest.
The ex-four term sheriff could have gotten up to 20 years in prison, but he accepted a plea deal last year. In return for his guilty plea, the U. S. Attorney’s Office agreed not prosecute him on any additional charges and not to recommend jail time.
Byrd still faces a state felony charge of intimidating a witnesses and is expected to be sentenced Thursday.
