SPANISH FORT, Ala. (WKRG) – The case against Spanish Fort Mayor Mike McMillan was presented before a judge last week in Bay Minette. McMillan was accused of slapping former city magistrate Lyndsey Cooper inside city hall on October 1, 2019.
On Friday, McMillan was found not guilty. Retired judge, James Reid, said the evidence wasn’t clear to him and he felt a not guilty verdict was the only option. Judge Reid announced the verdict just before 4 p.m. on Friday. This was not a jury trial.
Cooper released the following statement to WKRG News 5’s Blake Brown Monday afternoon regarding the verdict:
“I am disappointed in the verdict, but want to thank the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney’s office for taking my case seriously and issuing the criminal complaint against the Mayor. There was no jury and it was ultimately up to a sole trier of fact, a former presiding judge in Baldwin County who formed his opinion in spite of clear video evidence and who would not allow in other key pieces of evidence against the Mayor. The law does not allow me to appeal the verdict in criminal court. However, I also want to thank my family, friends and other supporters who gave me the courage to follow through with this even after I was punished by the City for doing so, losing my job and pension after almost ten years of working for Spanish Fort because I filed this criminal complaint against the Mayor. I am deeply grateful for the continued support.”
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