Man convicted of corpse abuse accused of walking away from treatment program

By Brendan Kirby

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    MOBILE, Alabama (WALA) — A McIntosh man who pleaded guilty last year to corpse abuse received a Christmas pass from a substance-abuse treatment program but never returned, prosecutors allege.

Joshua Lamar Powell was supposed to have a court hearing Thursday, but a spokeswoman for the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office told FOX10 News that he had a medical issue at Mobile County Metro Jail. A judge reset his hearing for Tuesday.

Powell, 40, pleaded guilty in September to corpse abuse. He admitted that he and two others dumped a drug overdose victim’s body in a wooded area off of Mobile County 43 in Washington County in 2020. Powell later led investigators to the body of Samantha Moore.

Mobile County Circuit Judge Michael Windom sentenced Powell to 15 years in prison, with all but seven months and 17 days suspended, plus three years’ probation.As a condition of probation, Powell entered a program called Sober Life Recovery Outreach in Anniston on Dec. 1. A probation officer filed a report indicated that he was doing well but that he failed to return after getting a Christmas pass. She recommended that he be sent to prison.

A judge sentenced him to 15 years in prison, with all but about seven months suspended. As part of a three-year probation term, Powell entered a program called Sober Life Recovery Outreach on December 1. He reportedly did well but failed to come back after he got a Christmas pass but failed to return. The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office arrested him earlier this month.

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