EXCLUSIVE: Closure not due to possible criminal investigation; President says closure should have happened last year | WDHN

HOUSTON COUNTY, Alabama (WDHN) — Cottonwood Rescue is closing its doors Friday.

The rescue team’s president told WDHN that the closure was not due to a possible criminal investigation, but rather that it was a plan that had been in the works for over a year.

Rickey Stokes, president of Cottonwood Rescue, tells WDHN that last year he originally wanted to hand over EMS services in Cottonwood to Rehobeth Rescue, Ashford Rescue and Pilchers Ambulance.

Then reports emerged that the state was conducting an audit of Cottonwood Rescue, and Stokes decided to stay on as head of the rescue department.

“I put a stop to it because I didn’t want to go out in a dark corner,” Stokes said. “Now, you’re saying, ‘Stokes, you’re in a dark corner.’ I am, but I know what the dark corner is and I know how to respond to it and I’m not interested in your accusations at all.”

Stokes met again with Ashford, Rehobeth and Pilchers on Thursday and agreed to cover the 130 square miles covered by Cottonwood Rescue starting after 4 p.m. Friday.

“My entire focus is on their care and making sure they get immediate emergency medical attention, I don’t care about anything else,” Stokes said. “I want them to get immediate care when they call 911, and I’m confident they will get that in this case.”

Initially, it was reported that the rescue department would be shut down due to the possibility of a criminal investigation. However, a state audit conducted in January found that $155,000 was missing from the rescue department. The state of Alabama is demanding that Stokes pay the missing funds.

Stokes maintains that he did nothing wrong.

“I didn’t steal any money, I can justify everything, but they have to go back and look at the last part of 2017 to 2020 to understand 2021 to 2024,” Stokes said.

Both Attorney General Steve Marshall and the Houston County District Attorney’s Office could file charges against Stokes if the reports land on their desks.

Stokes says he sent an email to both offices last week saying he was willing to answer any questions they had for him.

“This step is not being taken because of an investigation by the attorney general or the district attorney or any other entity. I applaud their investigation,” Stokes said. “This step is being taken because Brandon Shoupe and some other fool delayed it last year.”

Stokes told me that he had recommended several of his employees to the groups that would take over the EMS department, and that it was now up to them to possibly hire the former Cottonwood Rescue employees.