Prattville Pride cofounder charged with chemical endangerment

A co-founder of Prattville Pride has been charged with chemical endangerment of a child after Prattville police say they found narcotics and drug paraphernalia in the home of Adam Michael Ray Hunt.

Police responded to a report on Tuesday, September 16 of an unclothed child wandering near Main Street close to the intersection of Adell Street. Concerned individuals contacted police and reportedly kept the child safe while police arrived.

Police then returned the toddler to his residence approximately one block away, where they say they found an exterior door open and one male asleep in the residence, along with “narcotics and drug paraphernalia in plain view throughout the house.”

Police then executed a search warrant and arrested all three adult residents of the house including Hunt, who alongside Caryl Lawson and Anna Evans co-founded Prattville Pride after a picnic for the local LGBTQ+ community was interrupted by white supremacists and protestors.

Sources told APR that Hunt was not home at the time of the incident. 

The statement from the Prattville Police Department did not detail what narcotics or paraphernalia may have been found in the home. Multiple sources familiar with the incident have told APR that only marijuana was found in the home, which is not a narcotic.

It is, however, a controlled substance. Alabama’s “Chemical Endangerment of a Minor” law is somewhat unique and far-ranging, encompassing exposure to all controlled substances in the state. It also makes it a felony to permit children to be exposed to drug paraphernalia. Marijuana is federally recognized as a controlled substance, but 24 states have legalized recreational marijuana use.

Few if any other states have a matching law, although exposure to drugs could be prosecuted through broader child abuse or negligence laws. Alabama’s child endangerment law, originally introduced in 2006 due to a concern about meth labs, has come under scrutiny for its extension to pregnant women who use controlled substances, even if those drugs are prescribed.

Prattville police say the investigation is ongoing and more charges may be pending.