From The Tribune staff reports
MONTGOMERY —Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the arrest of an east Jefferson County convenience store manager for 45 tax-related charges. Christopher Coker, 46, of Warrior, is the manager of the Melvin Super Stop, a business owned by his family. He surrendered at the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and was released on a bond of $75,000.
Attorney General Marshall’s Special Prosecutions Division presented evidence to a Montgomery County grand jury on March 4, resulting in Coker’s indictment*. The Special Prosecution Division partnered with the Alabama Department of Revenue to investigate and bring these charges.
Specifically, the indictment charges that Coker willfully failed to collect or pay over sales taxes for Melvin Super Stop for the period of March 2015 through November 2018. No further information about the investigation or about Coker’s alleged crimes other than that stated in the indictment may be released at this time.
If convicted, Coker faces a maximum penalty of one to 10 years of imprisonment and up to a $15,000 fine for each of the charges, which are class C felonies.
An indictment or warrant is merely an accusation. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.