Former interim Selma fire chief arrested for theft

The Alabama State Fire Marshal’s Office announced that the former interim fire chief of the Selma Fire Department was arrested Friday on charges of theft.

Franklin Edwards was taken into custody by officials from the Alabama State Fire Marshal with assistance from the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office for first degree theft of property.

The State Fire Marshal’s Office said Edwards is being held at the Perry County Detention Center pending bail. Details of the theft have not been released.

Edwards also faces previous charges after he was arrested in 2020 and charged with hit-and-run.

According to previous reports, the accident occurred on June 26, 2020 on Interstate 59/20 southbound at mile marker 102. Matthew Scott Sartin, a 22-year-old from Pineville, Louisiana, was killed in the accident.

After securing the scene, police found a 2009 BMW 750 sedan about two miles south of the accident site. It was broken down and abandoned. Investigators determined that the vehicle had been driven by Edwards. He was taken to the Jefferson County Jail and released on $10,000 bail.

According to court records, Edwards is scheduled to face trial for hit-and-run in March 2025.