Sealed federal indictment issued in Prichard water board case, attorney says [Video]

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – A judge Thursday set a May trial date for four people charged with stealing from the Prichard water system, but a lawyer for one of the defendants said he has learned a federal grand jury already has issued an indictment.

Willie Huntley, who represents Teresa Evett Lewis, said he does not know key details about the secret indictment, like how many defendants are named, the specific charges or when it might be made public.

“I don’t know if it involves my client,” he said. “I was just informed that there’s a sealed indictment.”

Federal agents raided the Prichard Water Works & Sewer Board offices in February 2022 and hauled off boxes of records and computer equipment. The state court judge, Mobile County Circuit Judge Michael Windom, asked during a status hearing Thursday what has taken the investigation so long.

Jason Darley, an attorney for former operations manager Nia Malika Bradley, …