Friday, January 18, 2008
This is post number 2000
DPS Director Swears in New Troopers: Twelve Members of Class 2007-B to Join Trooper Ranks
Twelve Members of Class 2007-B to Join Trooper Ranks
MONTGOMERY — Graduation ceremonies were held Friday, Jan. 18, in Montgomery for the 12 members of Trooper Class 2007-B. Department of Public Safety Director Col. J. Christopher Murphy, in administering the oath of office, told the new troopers that “law enforcement service is one of the highest callings.”
Each of the new troopers completed a 12-week, accelerated training program at the Alabama Criminal Justice Training Center, DPS’s training academy in Selma. The accelerated program is designed for trooper trainees who have completed minimum standards training and are certified by the Alabama Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission prior to reporting to the academy. The training regimen for applicants without prior APOST certification is 22 weeks.
Class members recognized for outstanding achievement include William J. Randall Jr., who earned the Academic Award for achieving the highest overall grade point average; and Thomas A. Brooks, who received the Highway Response and Driving Award for demonstrating a high level of knowledge and ability in defensive and pursuit driving. The Marksmanship Award went to Scott R. Cooper for exhibiting the highest level of knowledge, skill and safety in firearms training; and the Fitness Award went to Jimmy L. Harrell Jr. for attaining the highest level of physical fitness.
Jerome L. White was selected as the class’s top performer overall, receiving the Commander’s Award for exhibiting exceptional leadership, professionalism and dedication to Class 2007-B and the Department of Public Safety, while maintaining a high academic average.
“You can rightly lay claim to the proudest tradition of service, dating back to the founding of the Alabama Highway Patrol in 1935,” said Murphy. “As an Alabama state trooper, you also accept responsibility for helping forge a new tradition of service to our state.”
Murphy congratulated the troopers and told them that Alabama “has extremely high expectations of you. The badge that you wear is a symbol of public faith and public trust, and we must be ever vigilant in making sure that badge is never tarnished.”
A roster of the members of Class 2007-B, along with their post and county assignments, follows:
Name Post County
Robbie M. Autery Birmingham Shelby
Thomas A. Brooks Dothan Bullock
Chad D. Brown Huntsville Madison
Jon L. Brummitt Montgomery Chilton
Steven D. Chattin Huntsville Jackson
Scott R. Cooper Montgomery Autauga
Randal Dubose Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa
Jimmy L. Harrell Jacksonville Cleburne
John L. Pert Dothan Houston
William J. Randall Huntsville Marshall
Jerome L. White Montgomery Montgomery
Lawrence B. Wilson Huntsville Madison
Photographs of the new troopers are available on Public Safety’s Web site http://www.dps.alabama.gov/ under the Service Division link.
-------------Public Information/Education
Alabama Department of Public Safety
Thursday, January 17, 2008
2 arrests in Ga. police killings
DECATUR, Ga. (AP) -- A second man was arrested in the apparent ambush slaying of two officers at a crime-ridden apartment complex, and police were searching for at least one more suspect, authorities said Thursday.
Deanthius Jamal Johnson, 28, of Decatur, was taken to the DeKalb County jail and charged with two counts of murder, county Police Chief Terrell Bolton said. Herbie Deshawn Durham, 32, was charged with two counts of murder Wednesday night after a massive search that involved SWAT teams, police dogs and a helicopter.
Bolton made another appeal to the public Thursday for information about the officers' slayings, and issued a warning to those still at large.
"We're gonna track you down, make sure that we find you and get you off the street as soon as possible," he said.
Officers Ricky Bryant Jr., 26, and Eric Barker, 33, were moonlighting as security guards at the complex and investigating a suspicious person when they were gunned down, police said.
"They never had a chance," Bolton said.
One witness told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the officers appeared to be frisking someone right before the shooting early Wednesday.
Derrick Murchison, 38, told the newspaper he looked out his window into a parking lot and saw that both officers had pulled up in their personal vehicles.
"They had asked the dude for his license ... I looked out and he was on the hood like this," he said, demonstrating that the man was standing with his hands on top of the car.
Murchison said he went back to playing a video game, but then his girlfriend heard shots and he pushed her away from the window.
One officer died at the scene; the other was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Witnesses reported seeing two males running from the scene, police said.
Commission sues former Probate Judge Arthur Murray
The Calhoun County Commission sued former Probate Judge Arthur Murray on Wednesday, over $19,496 state auditors said Murray should not have received.
The commission asked a judge to rule whether Murray could legally bill the county for preparing countywide voter lists from 2003 to 2006.
Murray charged the county 5 cents per name for each list produced, one each for seven different elections during that time.
The Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts said he should not have collected the money. The agency has said the County Commissioners and Murray should pay back the $19,496 Murray collected during that time.
Man dies in hunting accident
GORDO, Ala. (AP) -- A Tuscaloosa County man is dead following a hunting accident in Pickens County. It happened yesterday off County Road 57, just north of Gordo. Sheriff David Abston said two men in the early 20s were hunting when one was fatally shot. Friends at the scene identified the victim as 22-year-old Brandon Booth and the other hunter as John Luke Kelly.
Abston said the two men did not have permission to hunt on the property and they were not wearing hunter orange. Kelly was arrested and charged with trespassing - he was also questioned about the hunting accident.
The Booth family recently suffered another tragedy. On November 5th, the family's home in Romulus went up in flames, killing two of their dogs.
Jurors ratified man's guilty plea for 2006 murder spree
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- A Birmingham man will serve life in prison without the possibility of parole after he was convicted of four counts of capital murder.
A Jefferson County jury yesterday ratified Derrol Shaw's guilty pleas in the June 2006 slayings of 84-year-old John Martin, his 82-year-old wife, Evelyn Martin, and their grandson, 19-year-old Ryan Evans on June 13th, 2006. Shaw also admitted killing 91-year-old Walter Hill.
He pleaded guilty Monday to the killings, but Alabama law requires a jury to hear the evidence in a trial-like procedure and decide he is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The 20-year-old Shaw is already serving a life sentence on state charges of attempted murder and armed robbery and a federal sentence connected to five carjackings.
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Information From: The Birmingham News
Search resumes for last of 4 kids thrown from coastal bridge
BAYOU LA BATRE, Ala. (AP) -- Searchers fanned out across waterways off the Alabama and Mississippi coasts Thursday morning looking for the last of four children allegedly thrown off the Dauphin Island bridge by their father on Jan. 7.
The bodies of three children have been recovered since the search began on Jan. 8. The search was temporarily suspended Wednesday due to stormy weather.
Lam Luong, 37, a shrimp boat worker from Irvington, has been charged with capital murder in the children's deaths. Their mother, 23-year-old Kieu Phan, has received overwhelming support and sympathy from the community.
Members of the First Baptist Church of Bayou La Batre met for their regular Wednesday night worship and, as they did during the past week, they prayed for children whose lives ended too early.
Collette King of Bayou Coden is one of the dozens of people who've been searching for the children.
When asked what that job has been like, King told Mobile TV station WKRG, "It's one you don't want to do. You go out there and look for something you don't want to find."
King and other searchers have looked through marshes and wetlands.
When asked why she's volunteered her time, King said, "Why not? You've got to (help)."
Leesburg man gets 325 years for child porn
BIRMINGHAM — A Cherokee County man who admitted taking lewd photographs of a 14-year-old girl and viewing them on his computer was sentenced to 325 years in federal prison Wednesday.
Authorities portrayed the stiff sentence as a warning to anyone involved in child pornography, but defense lawyer Robert Tuten called the term unusually harsh.
"I think everyone in the courtroom was stunned," said Tuten, of Huntsville.
Gary Steven Vasiloff, 51, of Leesburg pleaded guilty in October to 21 counts of producing child pornography and a single charge of possessing child pornography. A complaint accused him of sexually abusing the girl and providing her with alcohol before he took the photos.
Court documents said the law called for a sentence ranging from 15 to 30 years on each count, and the defense was hoping for a prison term of around 15 years total, with the penalty for each charge running concurrently.
But U.S. District Judge Virginia Emerson Hopkins enhanced the punishment for factors including the involvement of alcohol and the young age of the victim. Tuten said she gave Vasiloff the minimum sentence on most counts and the maximum on some, then ordered that the penalty for each charge run back to back.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
2 cops killed in 'ambush' in Georgia
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DECATUR, Ga. (AP) -- Two off-duty DeKalb County police officers were killed early Wednesday in what appeared to be an ambush at an apartment complex in what residents described as a high-crime neighborhood, police said.
The two officers, working as security guards at the complex, were investigating a suspicious person at the complex when shots rang out, DeKalb County Police Chief Terrell Bolton told The Associated Press.
Authorities were searching for two males seen running from the scene. Police were using dogs and a helicopter to search for the suspects.
"We've got every able body looking for them," Bolton said.
Later, at a news conference, Bolton addressed the gunmen: "If I were you, I'd turn myself in. The sun's coming up. Before sundown, we're gonna find you."
3 arrested on marijuana charges
Calhoun County Sheriff's Office investigators arrested three Anniston men allegedly delivering a one-pound bag of marijuana to a house in Oxford on Monday afternoon.
The investigators, acting on a tip, confronted Stephen Derrick Magouirk, 24, of Mountainview Road, as he approached a house on Dewey Drive in Oxford just before 3:30 p.m.
Chief Deputy Matthew Wade said Magouirk had one hand in his pocket and the other grasping a gallon-size plastic zipper bag as he walked up to the house.
Investigators approached to take him into custody and found a pistol in his pocket, said Wade.
Two other men, Derrick Anthony Porter, 20, of Carter Street and Elzon Antwon Rudolph, 23, of West Third Street, were arrested as they sat in a vehicle outside, said Wade.
Deputies are continuing their investigation and are sending the case to federal authorities to see if the charges can be upgraded to the federal level.
All three were charged with felony possession of marijuana and attempt to commit a controlled-substance crime. Magouirk has an additional charge of carrying a pistol without a permit.
All three are being held at the Calhoun County Jail pending bond and court date.
2 shoplifters arrested in Jacksonville
A pair of serial shoplifters was arrested in Jacksonville Sunday but not before one used pepper spray against Wal-Mart personnel and threatened employees with a knife.
Police arrested Renee Marshall, 32, of Columbus, Ga, and Arlona Marshall, 22, of Phenix City, after the two allegedly lifted a host of items and tried to flee the Jacksonville Wal-Mart Supercenter Sunday evening, reported Jacksonville police.
Investigators said Wal-Mart security personnel had been watching the two women bagging items in Wal-Mart bags they had brought into the store and putting the items in their cart.
Wal-Mart personnel followed them into the parking lot when they pushed the cart out of the store and tried to stop them, said police.
Investigators said a fight began.
Arlona Marshall eluded the employees, first on foot, then in her vehicle.
Renee Marshall allegedly pulled out a can of pepper spray and sprayed a male employee before running away.
Two other employees caught up with her in front of the National Guard armory, said police.
According to investigators, Marshall began fighting with the employees, attempted to bite one, sprayed more pepper spray, and finally held them off with a paring knife and a stick.
Jacksonville police officers arrived at the scene and Marshall put the items down, said police.
She was taken into custody and charged with first-degree robbery and criminal use of defensive spray, both felonies.
While she was being booked at the police station, Arlona Marshall, called the police department to coordinate her surrender.
When she arrived for booking at the station, police searched her vehicle and found a handgun.
Investigators believe the two were involved in multiple shoplifting incidents at Wal-Marts in Talladega, Oxford, Anniston, Jacksonville, and possible other locations in southeast and northeast Alabama.
Investigators said there are at least two additional suspects who are believed to have been working in concert with the Marshalls in the shoplifting incidents.
Both women were in Calhoun County Jail Tuesday on $75,000 bond, pending additional charges from other cases.
Weaver man charged with attempted murder, burglary
A Weaver man was in jail Tuesday, charged with attempted murder and burglary, after he tried to shoot a Jacksonville homeowner.
Tony L. Williams, 50, was arrested by Jacksonville police Wednesday night after an incident that began after he allegedly walked into the home of a 32-year-old acquaintance uninvited.
Investigators said Williams rang the doorbell at a house on the 1700 block of Whites Gap Road around 9:20 p.m. before opening an unlocked door and walking in.
According to police the 32-year-old homeowner got out of bed and walked into a hallway where he confronted the man, whom he knew.
Williams allegedly pulled a .22 caliber revolver out and tried to fire it at the homeowner but it didn't discharge.
Investigators said the two then began fighting and the revolver came apart.
Jacksonville police charged Williams with attempted murder and first-degree burglary.
He was in Calhoun County Jail Tuesday on $135,000 bond. No serious injuries were reported in the incident.
4 Maxanna Drive residents have their cars broken into
At least four residents on Maxanna Drive had a bad start to the week when they woke up to find their cars had been broken into.
Anniston police reported three vehicles were broken into on the 900 block of Maxanna, near Saks, and another was broken into on the 800 block between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning.
Investigators said in several of the instances the doors of the vehicle were left unlocked. Police reports indicate no force was used in entering the vehicles.
No suspects were in custody Tuesday.
Alleged accomplice of Mississippi fugitive misidentified by police
The alleged accomplice of the fugitive snagged by Oxford police Saturday was misidentified.
Initially, because of a clerical error, police identified the woman to The Star incorrectly as Christie Diane Bright, 43, of Anniston.
Oxford police arrested Lavaris Deandrew Yates, 28, of Cedar Bluff, Miss., and an unidentified woman who were traveling in a white 2005 Ford Taurus with Mississippi plates after they led police on a chase down Interstate 20 Saturday.
Yates remained in custody Tuesday and his bond was set for $267,000.
Bright said she was listed as a "fugitive from justice" and was arrested over the weekend but in an unrelated incident related to a shoplifting charge in Carroll County, Ga. She said she does not know Yates and wasn't with him when he was arrested.
Oxford police said Yates was arrested for possession of marijuana and reckless endangerment.
According to police, Yates escaped from the Chickasaw County Jail in Houston County, Miss.
On Sunday, Oxford police upgraded his charges to fugitive from justice and obstructing justice using a false identity.
Oxford police investigators said the unidentified woman was taken into Lincoln police custody at the scene.
Bright was out on bond for the shoplifting charge Tuesday.
Jacksonville man allegedly assaulted with knife by wife
A 57-year-old Jacksonville man was stabbed Thursday night and his wife was arrested after the two got into a heated argument, police said.
Jacksonville police arrested Mary Nixon, 57, of the 600 block of Vann Street, shortly after midnight Thursday and charged her with first-degree domestic violence.
Investigators said Nixon's husband showed up at a neighbor's house to call police but wouldn't say anything about how he received a two-inch gash on his lower left back.
When police arrived they found a steak knife with blood on it and arrested Mary Nixon.
The husband was transported to Jacksonville Medical Center for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
Theodore man murdered in home
THEODORE, Ala. (AP) -- The death of a 60-year-old Theodore man was ruled a homicide. That's according to Kate Johnson, a Mobile County Sheriff's spokeswoman.
Johnson said just before 5 p.m. yesterday deputies discovered Richard Land being treated by paramedics. He died a short time later.
No arrests were made and Johnson said sheriff's detectives are following several leads.
Ala., Fla. men charged in street race death
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- A north Alabama man and a Florida man are each charged with manslaughter in connection with a fatal street racing incident in Birmingham.
Birmingham Police said 27-year-old Brian Murphy of Elkmont and 32-year-old Yardley Potter of Florida were the drivers in the street race responsible for killing 29-year-old Lonnie King, also of Birmingham. Authorities said King was struck and killed while he videotaped illegal race.
Murphy was placed in the Jefferson County Jail without bond and Yardley awaits extradition from Florida. The two were also charged with leaving the scene of an accident.
Police are still searching for another suspect sought in a separate incident at the race. 36-year-old Anthony Lett of Huntsville was shot to death in a dispute over a racing bet.
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Information From: The Birmingham News
Troopers shut down section of I-20/59 near Tuscaloosa
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -- An accident on Interstate 20/59 in Tuscaloosa County has prompted Alabama state troopers to close both lanes to traffic. The wreck occurred between miles markers 79 and 86 - not far from the Coaling exit. Troopers said a power line was knocked down, blocking both the north and south bound lanes.
Troopers are rerouting traffic onto Highway 11 and Highway 216.
That section I-20/59 will closed until at least 11 a.m. today.
No other information was immediately available about the accident.
3rd child's body found in Alabama bridge deaths
BAYOU LA BATRE — The body of a third child allegedly tossed from a coastal Alabama bridge by their father was found Tuesday in a Mississippi bayou, authorities said.
Kate Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Mobile County Sheriff's Department, said the body was found by a Mississippi marine resources crew in an inlet of Crooked Bayou near Pascagoula.
She said the identity of the child was not immediately confirmed but was believed to be one of four young children allegedly dropped from the Dauphin Island bridge by their father, 37-year-old Lam Luong.
Luong is being held without bond at Mobile on four capital murder charges. A judge on Tuesday approved the appointment of a translator to help the Vietnamese-born defendant understand the charges.
The children's mother, 23-year-old Kieu Phan, wept Monday night as she joined others in a candlelight vigil near bayou docks where the bodies of two of the children were brought after being found.
The bodies of 3-year-old Ryan Phan and his 4-month-old brother, Danny Luong, were recovered over the weekend in waters a few miles west of the Dauphin Island bridge.Arson not suspected as fire guts Cleveland Church of God
CLEVELAND — Investigators said a blaze that gutted a Blount County church on Tuesday was an accident, but they are still trying to determine whether there was a link between two church fires in Chilton County.
Flames burned through the roof of the Cleveland Church of God, but the brick exterior of the building remained standing after the fire was extinguished. Officials said firefighters were called to the fire about 9 a.m., and it didn't take long to determine the cause was accidental.
"There were combustibles left too close to a heating unit," said Ragan Ingram, a spokesman for the state fire marshal's office.
Cleveland is located in Blount County about 40 miles northeast of Birmingham.
Meanwhile, authorities are investigating if there was a connection between two suspicious fires that occurred over two weeks in Chilton County, about halfway between Birmingham and Montgomery.
A fire that officials called suspicious destroyed Maple Springs Baptist Church on Dec. 29, and Providence No. 1 Baptist Church was leveled by a fire that occurred Saturday during what authorities described as an apparent arson and burglary.
No arrests have been made, and Sheriff Kevin Davis said investigators were unsure whether there was a link between the two fires. They also are trying to determine if either fire is linked to a string of four church burglaries that occurred in Chilton County over two months.
Authorities arrested two men on Jan. 6 in a string of arsons and burglaries at four churches in east Alabama around the New Year. The men, described by investigators as Satan worshippers, pleaded not guilty during initial court appearances.
Three former Birmingham college students are serving prison terms in connection with nine church arsons that drew national news interest in February 2006.
Ex-Redstone official pleads guilty to bribery, tax evasion
BIRMINGHAM — A former Redstone Arsenal official has pleaded guilty to charges of bribery, conspiracy and tax evasion and admitted taking $1.6 million in kickbacks from contractors for U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command projects, federal authorities announced Tuesday.
Michael Cantrell, 51, of Huntsville, was charged in the alleged scheme while working as the director of the Joint Center for Technology Integration from 2000 to 2005 and its successor, the Integrated Capabilities Management Directorate, until 2007.
"The high flying lifestyle Cantrell paid for with kickbacks from contractors has crashed," U.S. Attorney Alice Martin said in a statement Tuesday. "Accepting kickbacks will eventually kick you down, and we hope through prosecutions to make it a 'high risk-low reward' crime."
Cantrell's lawyer, James Sturdivant of Birmingham, said his client reached a plea agreement and has been cooperating with authorities from the moment he was approached by authorities.
"He realizes that he made a very, very serious mistake and he is doing everything he can to atone for that," Sturdivant said in a telephone interview Tuesday.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Troopers Seize Cocaine, Marijuana Following Traffic Stops
Three Subjects Charged with Trafficking
Following traffic stops Monday on interstates near Montgomery and Mobile, Alabama state troopers assigned to the Highway Patrol Division seized five kilos of cocaine, 13 pounds of marijuana and made three arrests on drug trafficking charges,At 3:10 p.m. Monday, a Mobile-area trooper stopped a Ford pickup truck for a traffic violation – following too closely – near the eight mile-marker on Interstate 10 eastbound. After obtaining the driver’s consent to search the vehicle, the trooper located five kilos of cocaine concealed in the truck’s cab. The cocaine has a street value of $125,000.
The driver, Alfonso Noriega, 18, and a passenger, Ricardo Daltierra, 26, both of Kenner, La., were taken into custody without incident. Both were charged with trafficking in cocaine and placed in the Mobile County Jail.
Later Monday, at 5:45 p.m., a Montgomery-area trooper stopped the driver of a Chrysler PT Cruiser for suspected drunken driving on Interstate 85 northbound near the 11 mile-marker. The trooper detected the odor of marijuana emanating from the vehicle, and a subsequent search revealed approximately 13 pounds of marijuana secreted in the vehicle’s passenger compartment. The marijuana has a street value of $13,000.
The driver, Anthony Hannula, 22, of Saute Nacoche, Ga., was charged with trafficking in marijuana and placed in the Montgomery County Jail.
Both cases have been turned over to the Alabama Bureau of Investigation for further investigation.
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Public Information/Education
Alabama Department of Public Safety
Monday, January 14, 2008
Man shot dead after entering wrong apartment
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) -- Police said a Huntsville man who mistakenly entered the wrong apartment was shot to death early Sunday.
Wendell Johnson, a police spokesman, said 34-year-old Gary Lee McCarty allegedly was drinking and locked himself out his apartment. Johnson said a preliminary investigation indicated McCarty tried to crawl through a back window and was shot by a resident who thought the man was a burglar.
The shooting occurred just after midnight on Webster Drive.
The unnamed resident was not charged, but Johnson said the case could be presented to a grand jury by the Madison County D.A.'s office.
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Information From: The Huntsville Times
Search resumes on Ala. coast for last 2 of 4 kids at bridge
BAYOU LA BATRE, Ala. (AP) -- A search resumed Monday for the bodies of the last two of four young children allegedly thrown from an 80-foot-tall coastal Alabama bridge by their father after a fight with his wife.
The bodies of 3-year-old Ryan Phan and his 4-month-old brother, Danny Luong, were recovered over the weekend in waters a few miles west of the Dauphin Island bridge, where authorities say the father, Lam Luong, tossed the children to their deaths on Jan. 7.
The bodies of the last two - Hannah Luong, 2, and Lindsey Luong, 1 - were sought in nearby waters as the search resumed not far from Bayou La Batre, where the family lived.
The 3-year-old's body was spotted Sunday near shore in Bayou La Fourche Bay, about three miles west of where the infant was found by a duck hunter on Saturday, Mobile County Sheriff Sam Cochran said.
Cochran said the last two bodies could be in nearby marshes or taken by the current closer to the Alabama-Mississippi line.
The search began last Tuesday after prosecutors said the father broke down and confessed to driving them to the two-lane bridge and throwing them into the waters below after a fight with his wife, 23-year-old Kieu Phan. Authorities said the children were apparently dropped from the highest point of the three-mile-long span, about 80 feet above the main channel of the Intracoastal Waterway.
With currents possibly taking the bodies to the west, the 200-square-mile search area extended Monday from coastal Alabama waters to Moss Point, Miss. Sheriff's Departent spokeswoman Kate Johnson said up to 150 volunteers were joining in the search, which included aircraft, cadaver dogs and small vessels combing shoreline and shallow waters.
Ongoing feud won't affect Oxford drug bust
An ongoing argument between a Drug Enforcement Agency official and a Barbour County deputy won't affect an Oxford police drug bust from November, police Chief Bill Partridge said.
Barbour County Chief Deputy Eddie Ingram was training Oxford police officers in drug interdiction tactics during the Nov. 13 drug bust on Interstate 20.
An Oxford police officer made the stop, which led to the discovery of 45 kilos of cocaine with an estimated $6 million street value, Partridge said.
In a Dec. 4 letter posted on the Web site of the Dothan Eagle newspaper, Assistant Special Agent for the Birmingham office of the DEA wrote that the office would not pursue the case because Ingram was involved.
Partridge said Oxford police made the bust and would pursue state-level charges in the case, regardless of DEA involvement.
For each case, the DEA makes its own decision on whether or not to seek federal charges, and that has no bearing on what the local agency does, Partridge said.
Residents respond to mayor's indictment
ROANOKE — "Why would anything be different?" asked Roanoke City Clerk Ellen Farmer.
| Documents |
Read the full indictment (.pdf)  |
She said everything in town is business as usual. It's just that Roanoke's mayor, Henry "Spec" Bonner, was indicted on 26 counts of violating state ethics and contract law Wednesday.
On Thursday, Bonner stopped by City Hall to check on things, as is his custom, and spoke to the Leadership Randolph County class at the Randolph County Courthouse as he had been scheduled to do.
The mayor said he was pleased with the reception at the class and said he remained confident.
"I put it in the Lord's hands and I think it's going to turn out okay," Bonner said.
The indictment alleges that Bonner, 73, used his position as mayor to divert more than $86,000 in fuel contracts to Handley Distributing, the business where he is president and a minority owner. It also accuses him of awarding a $220,000 contract for grading work on city property to one or both of two companies without advertising for bids, and charges him with benefiting from $11,462 one of those companies paid to his business.
Calhoun County coroner Pat Brown has been busier than usual lately
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| Calhoun County coroner Pat Brown opens his office in the basement of the old Berman's building near the courthouse. Photo: Stephen Gross/The Anniston Star |
The phone book was open to the R-section. Half an hour ago she was looking for the number of a local resale shop.
Lamps, blankets, a clock radio and photo frames were piled on the full-size bed in the empty kid's-room-
turned-guest-room.
On the floor lay a woman's body.
The 65-year-old mother of one, in blue jean Capri pants and a hooded shirt, hadn't put on her make-up yet.
Her spouse of 45 years — a rugged man accustomed to work, cuts, and bruises — sat in his living room easy chair.
"Just so you know you're normal, let me try to explain what's going to happen," said Calhoun County Coroner Pat Brown.
The coroner had already examined the body. The woman succumbed to a massive heart attack.
"There's going to be a time when you want to go out into the yard and beat that tree into dust," said Brown.
The man was holding his wife when she took her last breaths.
"Your family is going to put you on suicide watch," said the coroner.
The woman's driver's license photo stared up from the clear plastic of a wallet left on the coffee table.
"I had always hoped I would die first," said the man. "I didn't want to go through this."
A cat outside the sliding glass door sat on its haunches watching its owner, waiting to be let in.
"You saved her from having to go through this," said the coroner.
Family members arrived, then a vehicle from the funeral home.
The coroner encouraged the family to stay in the other room and helped load the woman's body.
When he returned he sat with them. He told them about the grief counseling available through his office and what was going to happen next.
Then he left them in the quiet before a storm of decisions.
An hour later Brown was headed to a traffic fatality.
Three volunteers met him at the scene. They interviewed police and emergency workers, identified the apparent cause of death, coordinated an autopsy and removed the body.
Brown said it seems like there are more calls coming in these days.
There were 25 calls in December — 14 already in January.
The annual death totals recorded by the Calhoun County Health Department over the past few years have averaged about 1,300. Brown said he doesn't expect that to be appreciably different this year.
According to the Alabama Center for Health Statistics, there are a few hundred more deaths in the months of December, January, and March statewide. Everyone's got their own speculation on why — the winter, the holidays, cosmic alignments.
Brown said the coroner's office comes to know their limitations this time of year.
Roanoke mayor indicted
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| Roanoke Mayor Henry 'Spec' Bonner is denying charges that he used his position for personal gain and violated the state's competitive-bid law. Attorney General Troy King handed down a 26-count indictment against Bonner Wednesday morning. File Photo: Stephen Gross/The Anniston Star |
Roanoke Mayor Henry "Spec" Bonner was arrested Wednesday on a 26-count indictment that includes accusations he used his position for personal gain and violated the state's competitive-bid law.
The mayor denies the charges and said he won't step down.
A press release from Alabama Attorney General Troy King detailed all 26 counts and said Bonner surrendered Wednesday morning at the Randolph County Jail. The mayor was released on bond.
The indictment alleges that Bonner, 73, used his position as mayor to divert more than $86,000 of the fuel contracts to Handley Distributing, the business where he is president and a minority owner. It also accuses him of awarding a $220,000 contract for grading work on city property to one or both of two companies without advertising for bids, and charges him with benefiting from $11,462 one of those companies paid to his business.
| Documents |
Read the full indictment (.pdf) |
In a phone interview Wednesday, Bonner said he has no intention of resigning and had done nothing unethical.
"This character assassination is coming from a select few people, and they kept after it and kept after it until the attorney general acted," he said.
He would not say who he suspected was behind the charges.
"I think that's what they're after is me resigning," Bonner said. "But I have no intention of resigning."
NTSB finds no pre-crash mechanical faults in plane from December crash
There were no pre-crash mechanical failures on a plane that went down in Randolph County on Dec. 7, killing two people, according to a federal investigator. Senior air safety investigator Corky Smith with the National Transportation Safety Board in Atlanta said he disassembled the Cessna R182's engine Tuesday and that it showed no anomalies. Smith had already determined that all of the steering and other systems on the plane were functioning before the crash, which killed Emily Clark, 28, of Madison, and James Brown, 37, of Huntsville.
In his initial report, released Dec. 12, Smith said the Cessna was filled with gas in Orlando, Fla., around 6:45 p.m. on Dec. 7 and should still have had plenty of gas by the time it reached the skies above Randolph County. The plane went down in the Bethel East community near Sewell at 9:17 p.m. The initial report states that a witness told investigators the plane flew over with the engine running at a high RPM before crashing. Weather conditions were mild that night, according to the report. Clark, who was a certified flight instructor with ACRO Air in Madison County, listed the trip as an instructional flight, which means a flight plan was not required, Smith said in the report. Smith said Wednesday that he is awaiting autopsy and toxicology reports as well as radar data. He has up to a year to finish the investigation, but said he hoped to finish within six months from the time of the crash. After the full report, the five-person National Transportation Safety Board will determine the cause of the crash based on Smith's findings. | ||||
Clay County Sheriff's Dept. arrests 5 in meth lab bust
The Clay County Sheriff's Department raided a methamphetamine lab near the Shinbone community Monday evening and made five arrests.
Sheriff Dorothy "Jean Dot" Alexander said the sheriff's department's Special Response Team, and members of the Oxford Police Department Drug Unit, raided a house on Goodhope Delta Road around 6:45 p.m.
Chief Investigator Steve Cotney said deputies received information several months ago that a group of people might be manufacturing meth at the mobile home.
He said after a sufficient amount of evidence was gathered investigators had enough probable cause to get a search warrant.
The occupants of the house had set up surveillance cameras in the trees but the special response team was able to maneuver past them, said Cotney.
Police arrested Clifton Shaddix, 29, of Delta, Matthew Phillips, 28 of Delta, Michael Pate, 33, of Randolph County, Virginia McMichael, 29, of Heflin, and Laura Champion, 21, of Heflin and charged them with first-degree manufacturing a controlled substance.
According to police the five occupants of the trailer followed orders when authorities stormed the house.
Police found an active lab located in the bathroom, said Cotney.
He said police confiscated an undetermined quantity of finished drug product, several weapons, and possible stolen property.
The drugs will be sent to a drug lab at Auburn for analysis, said Cotney.
Two officers from the sheriff's department, certified to handle hazardous materials, disassembled the production components and a company from Birmingham was on scene Tuesday to cleanup after the meth lab, said Cotney.
Police arrest 19-year old man in Oxford for robbery, beating
Oxford police arrested a 1st Avenue man for allegedly robbing and beating a 23-year-old County Line Road man Jan. 3.
Jimmy Ray Charles Poma-Pratt, 19, was taken into custody Tuesday morning and charged with first-degree robbery.
Oxford police investigators said Poma-Pratt and two women asked Blake Fain, 23, to meet them at 140 Marsh Lane, in the Meadowlake subdivision.
Police said Poma-Pratt was hiding in the bushes on the side of the house when Fain got out of his vehicle around 11:30 p.m.
When he walked up to the house, Poma-Pratt jumped out, struck him with a baseball bat, and began hitting him in the face with his hands, said investigators.
According to police, before leaving with the two women, Poma-Pratt took Fain's wallet and jewelry.
A friend had been riding with Fain in the vehicle, witnessed the attack, and drove him to the hospital.
Oxford police were notified after the friend delivered Fain to Regional Medical Center unconscious with severe head trauma.
Fain was flown to Birmingham for treatment where he remained unconscious until Tuesday, said police.
By Wednesday