Gadsden sheriff loses election amid jail program criticism

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Todd Entrekin
Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin took home as personal profit more than $750,000 that was budgeted to feed jail inmates, which is legal in Alabama, according to state law and local officials. [Photo Credit: Brynn Anderson/AP]

An Alabama sheriff who was criticized for making money from the county jail’s food program has been defeated in a primary election.

In Alabama, it’s possible for sheriffs to personally profit from jail meals. In many cases, the less a sheriff spends on feeding inmates, the more he or she can make.

Before Tuesday’s Republican primary election for sheriff, Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin released tax forms showing he made a profit of $672,392 from the jail kitchen in 2015 and 2016. Entrekin had made the documents public during a news conference where he denied allegations that prisoners were malnourished.

Rainbow City Police Chief Jonathon Horton, who won the primary, tells Al.com that Entrekin called him and conceded the race after early returns showed Horton with a large lead.

Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.