LIVINGSTON, Ala. -- An officer of McBride Oil Co. has paid a $10,000 fine for alleged price gouging at the pump in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, but Sumter County, Ala., District Attorney Greg Griggers wants him to plead guilty as well, said an Associated Press report.
Griggers told Sumter County Circuit Judge Eddie Hardaway Jr. that he received a check Friday as part of a settlement. But Griggers said he would not consider the matter closed until Jason McBride pleads guilty to violating the state's pricing-gouging law.
Neither [image-nocss] McBride nor his attorney, John Russell III, were at the courthouse Monday for a hearing on a motion to dismiss the charge, AP said. Hardaway said he would review the statute and make a determination.
The Tuscaloosa News reported that in a phone interview Monday, Russell said he believed the matter had been settled.
A grand jury reportedly indicted McBride, secretary-treasurer of McBride Oil Co., on September 27 for violating the pricing act on August 31 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Griggers alleged that McBride sold gasoline at $3.69 a gallon. McBride has said the retail price of gasoline at two stores was briefly $3.49 based on his purchase price of $3.29 a gallon.
He waived his appearance at an arraignment on October 19 and pleaded not guilty, according to the report.
Aliceville, Ala.-based McBride Oil distributes BP and Pure petroleum products, lubricants and other related products throughout West Alabama and East Mississippi. It also operates and leases approximately 60 convenience stores, as well as restaurants and a Days Inn motel, according to the company's website.
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