Former Montevallo Attorney Charged with Burning Pedestrian Bridge

Steven Ralph Sears, a former attorney for the City of Montevallo, is now facing a first degree criminal charge of mischief in Shelby County involving an attempt to burn a bridge used by pedestrians and bicyclists.  Records show that Sears, 61, secured release from the Shelby County Jail on Saturday after posting a $5,000 bond.  He was arrested by authorities on October 11th at his Crestview Drive home on a felony warrant after an investigation was conducted by police and the State Fire Marshal’s Office.  Sears could not be reached for comment.

Montevallo Police Chief Jeremy Littleton reports that someone had attempted to burn the bridge four times over the last several months.  Authorities arrested Sears for an incident that took place during the morning hours of October 5th.

Steven Sears is known in Montevallo after his failed attempts in the city’s mayoral election.  He filed suit concerning the 2008 election after he lost to Ben McCrory by a final count of 412-403 votes.  Sears accused the winning candidate of failing to follow state law on campaign finance reporting but was unsuccessful in his attempt to remove McCrory.

Sears also ran in the 2012 election but was only able to collect 6 percent of the votes in the race.  Hollie Cast received 47 percent, McCrory 34 percent, and David Nichols 12 percent.