By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

COLUMBIANA – A 33-year-old Alabaster man is facing up to 20 years in prison after he was arrested and charged with allegedly distributing cocaine and painkillers on two separate occasions in Alabaster.

The Shelby County Drug Enforcement Task Force arrested Brandon Luvine Cunningham, who lists an address on Buttercup Circle in Alabaster, on Dec. 10 and charged him with two felony counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance.

The charges are both Class B felonies, according to Alabama law, and each carry maximum sentences of 20 years in prison upon conviction.

Cunningham’s charges came after he allegedly distributed the controlled substances in Alabaster in April and September.

According to his arrest warrants, Cunningham allegedly distributed cocaine in the 300 block of 11^th Avenue Southeast on April 30, and allegedly distributed the painkiller acetaminophen hydrocodone in in the 100 block of Seventh Avenue Southeast on Sept. 15.

Cunningham appeared in Shelby County District Court on Dec. 11, at which time he was appointed a public defender. He is now scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, at 8:30 a.m. for a preliminary hearing.

The suspect has remained in the Shelby County Jail on bonds totaling $20,000 since his arrest.