Athens Man Found Guilty In Sting At Wheeler Wildlife Refuge

A federal jury on Monday convicted an Athens man for public lewdness in the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge in June, U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance announced.

Following a one-day trial before U.S. Magistrate Judge Harwell G. Davis III, the jury in U.S. District Court in Huntsville found TRACY E. MCKELVY, 41, guilty of one count of public lewdness.


McKelvy was one of 14 people charged as a result of a covert operation into illegal activity conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in June in portions of Limestone and Morgan counties within the Wildlife Refuge. The majority of the people charged have pleaded guilty to charges of public lewdness.

During the trial, the government introduced a video of McKelvy that was recorded as part of the covert operation.

McKelvy's sentencing has been set before Judge Davis at 9 a.m., Feb. 23, 2010.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Redmond Debro prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.