The former chief marshal pleaded guilty to theft

WHEATLEY, Ark. (KAIT) – Arkansas State Police say the former chief marshal of the Whitley Police Department has pleaded guilty to theft.

Jacob Lynn Hammel, 26, pleaded guilty to theft of property in St. Francis County District Court on Dec. 2.

According to the probable cause affidavit, on Feb. 20, First District Attorney Todd Murray asked the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigations Division to investigate Gammel’s alleged extortion of a local business owner.

On Feb. 15, Wheatley Marshall Service attempted to execute an arrest warrant issued by Gammel for Khalid Alnemi’s Citgo gas station business.

The warrant stated that Gammel investigated the reported gaming room from 2023 and witnessed customers being paid cash for winnings. In addition, Hammel was tipped off by Arkansas Liquor Control Agent Thomas Kendrick, who used an undercover person to play the machines and was paid for the winnings.

During the execution of the warrant, Gammel and four other officers entered the gas station and ordered the employees to close the store and give written statements about their knowledge of the slot machines.

The affidavit states that police entered the gaming room and cut the padlocks off each machine, exposing the cash drawers where Gammel took money from each machine, as well as a black cash box from under the front cash register. The cars were then moved to a warehouse, and Hammel took the money to Whitley Town Hall.

Police said $2,229 was collected, with $697 coming from slot machines and $1,532 from the black box.

On February 20, Alnehmi was arrested and taken to the St. Francis County Jail.

According to the affidavit, Alnehmi told deputies he was giving money to Hammel because Hammel told him the city didn’t want to pay Hammel enough money and “if Alnehmi didn’t want the new Marshall to come in and close his business, he would pay the money Gammel”.

Alnehmi said he had wired Gammel more than $3,000 in the previous seven months. He told deputies the last time Gammel asked him for money was a few days before the cars were taken.

“Alnehmi stated that he told Chief Hammel that he didn’t have the money, but that he would pay him later, and that Chief Hammel replied, ‘I’ll back you up,'” the affidavit states.

Alnehmi told deputies when he first started making the payments that he wasn’t sure about Hammel, so he recorded the conversations between the two and asked the employee to videotape him paying Hammel.

During the investigation, an Arkansas liquor control agent said he never told Hammel that his agency was investigating the slot machines or that they had sent an undercover person to play the machines.

“Agent Kendrick stated that he was contacted by Chief Gammel and asked about the owner information that Agent Kendrick provided to Chief Gammel,” the affidavit states. “Kenrick vehemently denied Chief Hammel’s claim that there was an undercover operation at the store, calling it completely false.”

Employees who were at the gas station the day the slot machines were dismantled told deputies that Gammel forced them to write statements against Alnehmi “under duress, citing fear of possible prosecution as a motivating factor.”

According to ASP, Gammel was arrested on March 25 at his home in Whitley. Initially, he was accused of perjury and theft of property.

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