Former Mobile County Commissioner Steve Nodine was arrested last week for probation violations. He is on probation after being sentenced on charges of perjury and harassment.
His probation officer reported to law enforcement that Nodine allegedly tested positive for marijuana and other controlled substances during his last monthly list to the probation office.
Nodine’s attorney told the media after his bond hearing that his client failed the drug test because he had eaten a pot brownies and taken opiates that were medications of a friend during an approved visit to New Orleans.
The report stated that Nodine overextended an approved visit to New Orleans by three days. He had been cleared him to travel out of state on Dec. 3 for a job interview, but Nodine was still in New Orleans and seen at a Saints football game on Dec. 6.
Nodine spent two years in Baldwin County Corrections after he pled guilty to perjury and harassment charges against his deceased girlfriend, Angel Downes, as part of a deal in which prosecutors dropped the murder charge. His probation period extends into 2017.
The arrest came just two weeks after al.com reported Nodine was considering running for Congress as a Libertarian.
In 2008 and 2009, Commissioner Nodine was a regular visitor to Pensacola. He touted the City of Mobile’s success, even appeared with Commissioner Gene Valentino before the Escambia Board of County Commissioners in June 2009 to argue for Valentino’s economic development plan.
In late 2009, things began to fall apart for Nodine, who was considered a possible candidate of Alabama Lt. Governor. On Dec. 23, 2009, Mobile County workers found what appeared to be marijuana in the county truck driven by Mobile County Commissioner Stephen Nodine. (Read Buzz).
His girlfriend, Angel Downs, was found dead in the driveway of her Gulf Shores condominium in May 2010. CBS 48 Hours profiled the case).
Steve Nodine – another strange character in recent Pensacola history. A shooting star that came and went, fooling more than a few locals.