BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — An individual serving on the Brighton City Council was taken into custody on Monday, facing charges of tampering with evidence. This is specifically in connection with a video depicting the shooting deaths of two individuals in the town last winter, which he is accused of releasing to the media during an active police investigation of the incident.
Jerome Edward McMullin Jr. was apprehended shortly after 10 a.m. on Monday and charged with tampering with evidence—a Class A misdemeanor—and obstruction of government operations.
Court documents state that McMullin purportedly produced a video of a double homicide captured by a security camera outside the Brighton Community Center on December 13. Prosecutors allege he recorded the security footage using his personal cellphone and subsequently distributed it to the media while the investigation into the case was still ongoing.
Deputies with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office responded to the shooting after 2 p.m. Dec. 13, where two men had been shot. They were subsequently pronounced dead at the scene.
Law enforcement report that a funeral gathering was taking place at the center at the time of the shooting.
“This was video that shouldn’t be released to the public because an active investigation was going on by Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department that could be detrimental for apprehension of the suspects and conviction,” Brighton Police Chief Larry Woods said in a statement.
McMullin, 54, has been on the Brighton City Council since 2012.
He was released from the Birmingham Jail before noon Monday after posting $1,000 bond.
The case is under investigation.
