Attorney General Marshall Announces Brantley Woman Sentenced for Stealing Nearly $190,000 from Sheriff’s Office

For Immediate Release:
August 4, 2026

For press inquiries only, contact:
Amanda Priest (334) 322-5694
William Califf (334) 604-3230

(Luverne, Ala) — Attorney General Steve Marshall today announced the conviction of Jennifer Knighten, a former office administrator for the Crenshaw County Sheriff’s Office.

Knighten (54) of Brantley, Ala. pleaded guilty Tuesday to a felony charge for use of office for personal gain for stealing $189,596.65 from the Crenshaw County Sheriff’s Office. Knighten’s theft was accomplished through multiple means including creating false timesheets and corresponding check payments to herself; paying personal credit card bills from the Sheriff’s Office account; creating payments to fictitious vendors which she kept; and by stealing inmate work release funds.

Knighten received a ten-year sentence split to serve two years and five years of supervised probation. The intentional use of public office for personal gain is a Class B felony.

This case was prosecuted by Attorney General Marshall’s Special Prosecutions Division, including Assistant Attorney General John Pace. He gives special thanks to the Alabama Department of Public Accounts and the Crenshaw County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in this case.

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