HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — Huntsville City Councilman Devyn Keith apologized to city employees, family and the community after being arrested for several theft charges
Keith made the comments during the beginning of the Huntsville City Council meeting.
Keith called the last week the longest of his life and apologized to city employees, his family, and the community for what has happened.
“What you are looking at is the maturing of a man,” he said.
Hear Keith’s full comments here:
Keith said he was sorry that because of his actions, city officials have had to deal with things outside of their job description.
“I am sorry to every city employee, every director that I’ve had lunch with and moved heavens and earth with to make a difference in my community. I am sorry to every police officer that was impacted and every city employee that was impacted by the ripple effect of situations in my life,” said Keith.
He said that he is sorry to his family for putting them through the situation.
His final apology was to the community.
“Most importantly,” Keith said, ” I am sorry to my community because this was never about the man but the mission.”
Keith ended his comments by recusing himself from the rest of Thursday’s meeting.
The statement comes after Keith was arrested for several theft charges in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The District 1 Councilman is facing a total of four fourth-degree theft charges for incidents that the Madison County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) said took place at separate Walmart locations. Fourth-degree theft is a class A misdemeanor in the state of Alabama, punishable upon conviction with up to one year in jail and a maximum $6,000 fine.
His friend and supporter Chris Horn says Keith will always get support, but his actions are solely on himself.
“As a proud man of Huntsville, it’s about the people first and we hope he takes that into consideration to think about the people before he thinks about himself,” said Horn.
The case was investigated by the Huntsville Police Department (HPD) but MCSO is handling the arrest warrants to “avoid any perception of, or potential for, conflict of interest.”
On Wednesday, Keith released a statement on his Facebook page saying:
At advice of my legal counsel, I will no longer be discussing my ongoing litigation.
I have received a court date and I will give my final statement at tomorrow’s city council meeting.
More importantly… know that I love you and I thank God for you.
Huntsville City Councilman Devyn Keith
The situation began on Feb. 2 when Keith was arrested and charged with fourth-degree theft. HPD said officers had been called to officers were dispatched to 6140 University Drive just before 1 p.m. on an unrelated call. While on the scene, officers were alerted to a shoplifting suspect, who was later identified as Keith.
After that incident, Keith said in a statement that he had been using a self-checkout at Walmart, but had failed to pay for a $20 pair of headphones before leaving the store.
Keith was first elected to the city council in October 2016 and was re-elected in 2020
