Eric and Donna Kelso ask court to schedule plea hearings; four of six defendants now have agreements with prosecutors
CULLMAN, Ala. – Two more defendants charged in the Hanceville Police Department corruption case have reached plea agreements with state prosecutors, bringing the number of defendants moving toward negotiated pleas to four.
Former Hanceville Reserve Officer Eric Michael Kelso and his wife, Donna Reid Kelso, each filed a motion asking the Cullman County Circuit Court to schedule a hearing at which they can formally enter a plea, according to court records Friday, Aug. 14.
The motions state that Eric and Donna Kelso are free on bond and have entered into plea agreements with the state. The documents do not identify the charges to which they intend to plead, whether other counts would be dismissed or what sentences prosecutors may recommend.
A hearing date had not been publicly announced as of Friday.
The filings come days after former Hanceville Police Chief Jason Shane Marlin and former Officer Jason Scott Wilbanks also moved to enter negotiated pleas. Court records show Marlin and Wilbanks are scheduled to appear in Cullman County Circuit Court on Wednesday, Aug. 19.
The terms of their agreements also have not been made public.
The existence of a plea agreement does not by itself resolve a criminal case or impose a sentence. Each defendant must formally enter the negotiated plea in court and the judge must accept it.
Until the agreements are disclosed or summarized in open court, it is not possible to determine which charges the four defendants will admit, whether prosecutors have agreed to dismiss or reduce any counts or what punishment each could receive.
Charges against Eric and Donna Kelso
Eric Kelso was indicted on four counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance and two counts of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute a controlled substance.
The indictments allege Eric Kelso distributed anabolic steroids to Wilbanks and Cody Alan Kelso, Adderall to another person and hydrocodone to Wilbanks. He is also accused of conspiring with Donna Kelso to distribute anabolic steroids to Wilbanks and Cody Kelso.
Donna Kelso was indicted on two counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance and two counts of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute a controlled substance.
Court records allege she distributed anabolic steroids to Wilbanks and Cody Kelso and conspired with her husband to make those distributions.
Charges against Marlin and Wilbanks
Marlin was indicted on two counts of failure to report an ethics crime and one count of tampering with physical evidence.
The indictments allege Marlin failed to report ethics violations involving Wilbanks and Cody Kelso after being notified of them by the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation. He is also accused of removing or mishandling evidence from the Hanceville Police Department evidence room.
Wilbanks was indicted on two counts of computer tampering, two counts of using his office for personal gain, one count of tampering with physical evidence and two counts of solicitation to commit a controlled substance crime.
Court records allege Wilbanks used police department computers to access information about two people and provide it to others. He is also accused of using a department-issued phone to solicit controlled substances, traveling to a local hospital while on duty to receive an anabolic steroid injection from Donna Kelso and soliciting steroids and hydrocodone from Eric and Donna Kelso.
Wilbanks is further accused of removing or mishandling evidence from the department’s evidence room.
Two cases remain pending
Six people were indicted in February 2025. No plea agreements had been publicly reported as of Friday for the remaining two defendants, former Hanceville Officers Cody Alan Kelso and William Andrew Shelnutt.
Cody Kelso was indicted on two counts of computer tampering and one count each of solicitation to commit a controlled substance crime, use of office for personal gain and tampering with physical evidence.
The indictments allege he improperly accessed criminal and vehicle records, solicited anabolic steroids from Eric and Donna Kelso, traveled to a local hospital while on duty to receive a steroid injection and removed or mishandled evidence from the department’s evidence room.
Shelnutt was indicted on one count of tampering with physical evidence. He is accused of removing or mishandling evidence from the evidence room.
Their cases remain pending. Both defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Dispatcher’s death prompted investigation
The investigation began after Hanceville Police Department Dispatcher Christopher Michael Willingham, 49, was found dead in his office at department headquarters on Aug. 23, 2024.
An autopsy determined Willingham died from the combined toxic effects of fentanyl, gabapentin, diazepam, amphetamine, carisoprodol and methocarbamol. His death was ruled accidental.
No defendant was charged with causing Willingham’s death
Willingham’s death prompted an investigation by the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation. A Cullman County grand jury later concluded that his death was the direct result of the department’s negligence, lack of procedure, general incompetence and disregard for human life.
Investigators found that the department’s evidence room was unsecured and that evidence had allegedly been removed, mishandled or left undocumented.
“This evidence room was anything but secure,” Cullman County District Attorney Champ Crocker said when the indictments were announced.
The grand jury described a rampant culture of corruption within the department and said it had recently operated more like a criminal enterprise than a law enforcement agency. It recommended that the police department be abolished and that another agency assume responsibility for law enforcement in Hanceville.
Five officers and one officer’s spouse were indicted Feb. 14, 2025. The arrests were announced Feb. 19, 2025.
The original charging documents stated that all charges were felonies except tampering with physical evidence, which was charged as a Class A misdemeanor.
Department suspended, 58 cases lost
The Cullman County Sheriff’s Office assumed responsibility for law enforcement services in Hanceville after the indictments. The Hanceville City Council later voted to suspend the police department and rebuild it from the ground up.
The fallout extended beyond the six criminal cases.
In May 2025, Crocker announced that a grand jury had voted to no-bill or dismiss 58 felony cases because of illegal actions attributed to former Hanceville officers and problems involving the handling of evidence. Crocker said most of the affected cases involved drugs.
An evidence audit documented missing cash, unmarked firearms and widespread problems with the condition and organization of the evidence room.
The negotiated pleas involving Eric Kelso, Donna Kelso, Marlin and Wilbanks will not be final until they are formally entered and accepted by the court. Any charges that remain pending continue to be allegations.
The Tribune will update this report when the plea agreements, sentencing recommendations and hearing dates become available.
BACKGROUND:
www.cullmantribune.com/2025/02/19/grand-jury-calls-for-abolition-of-hanceville-pd-6-arrested
www.cullmantribune.com/2025/02/26/what-happened-to-the-hanceville-police-department
www.cullmantribune.com/2025/05/07/da-58-cases-dismissed-due-to-hanceville-pds-illegal-actions
