BY TROOPER JOEL HART
ALABAMA LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY PUBLIC RELATIONS
Editor’s Note: Our research shows this is not the first time that the father and son have faced similar charges. They were arrested in June of 2018 and 500 gallons of finished product were seized.
PHENIX CITY – During a search Wednesday, Jan. 6, for illegal moonshine stills in rural Russell County, Special Agents with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s (ALEA) State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) discovered a 48-barrel still on Rutherford Road near Hurtsboro. Agents requested assistance from the Russell County Sheriff’s Office to continue the investigation and obtained a search warrant for one residence associated with the still.
Law enforcement seized approximately 325 gallons of illicit moonshine whiskey hidden throughout the property. In addition, items of suspected stolen property were located, including flatbed trailers, a horse trailer, AR-15-style rifle and documents related to identity theft.
Agents arrested Manuel Eugene Davis, 58, and charged him with two felony counts of Possession of a Moonshine Still and Manufacturing or Distribution of Moonshine Whiskey, two felony counts of Obscuring a Vehicle Identification Number, one felony count of Possession of Marihuana in the first degree, one felony count of Trafficking in Stolen Identities. He was placed in the Russell County Jail pending a $38,500 bond.
Manuel Eugene Davis Jr., 34, also was arrested and charged with two felony counts of Possession of a Moonshine Still and Manufacturing or Distribution of Moonshine Whiskey, two felony counts of Obscuring a Vehicle Identification Number, one misdemeanor count of Possession of Marijuana in the second degree, one felony count of Trafficking in Stolen Identities and one felony count of Receiving Stolen Property in the second degree. He also was placed in the Russell County Jail pending a $35,000 bond.
A third individual, Gabrius Immanuel Mitchell, 37, was arrested and charged with two felony counts of Possession of a Moonshine Still and Manufacturing or Distribution of Moonshine Whiskey, two felony counts of Obscuring a Vehicle Identification Number, one felony count of Possession of Marihuana in the first degree and one felony count of Trafficking in Stolen Identities. He, too, was placed in the Russell County Jail pending a $38,500 bond.
Nothing further is available as ALEA’s SBI and the Russell County Sheriff’s Office continue to investigate.
