Former Mountain Brook employee arrested, charged with felony ethics violations

A former employee of the city of Mountain Brook was arrested on April 25.

Sunee Cates, a former magistrate for the Mountain Brook Municipal Court, was booked into Jefferson County Jail around 7 a.m. this morning, according to the Jefferson County Jail Inmate Summary. Cates, a 47-year-old Trussville resident, was charged with felony ethics violations. 

Cates posted $5,000 bond and was released from the jail at 8:59 a.m., according to the inmate summary. 

In October 2015, the city of Mountain Brook's finance department "became aware of possible improprieties involving the receipt of money for the payment of fines and court costs," according to a news release from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. An internal investigation with the city of Mountain Brook later showed Cates was taking money and deleting files to cover her actions, the report said, and when she was confronted, Cates resigned.

An investigation from the sheriff's office started in February 2016 and "the suspect refused to cooperate with the criminal investigation," according to the release. An arrest warrant for Cates was obtained in December 2016, and she was located and arrested this morning.