Police: Man burns Decatur woman with hot clothes iron

DECATUR, Ala. (AP) -- A Decatur woman was treated for serious burns after police said the victim's boyfriend used a clothes iron to repeatedly burn her.

Decatur Police Lt. Dennis Hughes said Ashley Garner, 23, suffered second-degree burns to her chest, back and arms Wednesday morning.

Hughes said Garner was released from Parkway Hospital in Decatur on Thursday.

Ladrondrick Jones, 25, was arrested Wednesday night and charged with 2nd degree domestic violence. Jones posted bond and was released from the Morgan County Jail.

Hughes said Jones got into an argument with Garner at her residence, struck her in the head with his hand and walked away, but returned minutes later with the iron.

"He held her down against her will, and he began burning her with the iron," Hughes said.

Lt. Sgt. Rick Archer said Jones pressed the iron to his girlfriend between five and 10 times, causing second-degree burns.

Jones, according to police, had been arrested earlier in the day on an unrelated warrant for domestic violence involving the same woman.

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Information from: The Decatur Daily, http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/index.shtml

Oxford police seek pair of men in hotel robberies

By Nick Cenegy
Star Staff Writer

01-25-2008

Oxford police said Thursday that they're closing in on two men they believe are tied to a pair of Saturday night robberies at area hotels.

Around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, two men walked up to a room at the Super Value Inn on the 100 block of Spring Branch Drive in Oxford and knocked on the door, police said.

Investigators said a 21-year-old Georgia resident, who was staying in the room with his brother, opened the door. One of the men grabbed him by the neck until his brother saw what was happening and pushed the assailant away.

One of the men then pulled a knife and told the brothers to give him their money. The 21-year-old slammed the door in his face. The men fled empty-handed, police reported.

The brothers told police they saw the men drive away in a blue Pontiac Grand Am.

The 21-year-old refused medical treatment at the scene.

Police believe the same men robbed a 38-year-old Newell man less than a half-hour later outside the Econo Lodge at 25 Elm Street.

The Newell man told police a blue Chevy Lumina pulled up beside him and two men approached. One of the men asked him for a cigarette, the other pulled a small handgun.

Investigators said the gun-toting man asked him what he "had on him."

When the man answered that he had nothing, the gunman asked how much money he had.

The man handed over a small amount of cash, and the two men drove off.

Investigators said they have identified two suspects and are close to making an arrest.

Burglars strike 7 Jacksonville apartments over the weekend

By Nick Cenegy
Star Staff Writer

01-25-2008

While the students were away last weekend, the burglars were at play in Jacksonville. Police reported at least seven apartments were burglarized and one car was broken into over the long weekend. The car break-in and four of the burglaries were reported at Jacksonville Place Apartments, at 331 Nisbet St. N.W. Three other burglaries were reported at Trac II Apartments on 388 Quill Ave. Among items stolen were numerous laptop computers, textbooks, video games — and in one case, even the shower curtain. In the majority of the crimes, burglars broke in through locked back doors, investigators said. A few of the burglary reports at the Trac II Apartments, however, indicate no force was used to enter. Jacksonville police investigator Joey Martin said apartment burglaries aren't uncommon during times when students are away. He said Christmas break this year was surprisingly tame, but this week's break-ins all but made up for it. Students and others leaving their residences for vacations or breaks should take extra security measures to protect their property, Martin said. Residents should make sure doors and windows are secure, leave a light on or buy a timer, keep a television or radio on, and notify neighbors they'll be away, he said.

Clay County man facing charges related to meth

By Nick Cenegy
Star Staff Writer

01-25-2008

Deputies serving an arrest warrant in Clay County on Wednesday didn't find their man, but they did discover an alleged methamphetamine lab.

The Clay County Sheriff's Department Special Response Team attempted to arrest Greg Moncus, 41, at his home on the 200 block of Park Loop in the Mellow Valley area Wednesday evening, said Investigator Steve Cotney.

Moncus was considered a high risk and was wanted for violating bond on a manufacturing charge. When officers arrived, Moncus wasn't home.

Sgt. Tony Tomlin, leader of the SRT, said there were signs Moncus had just left. A vehicle matching the description of Moncus' was spotted in the area, he said.

The driver of the vehicle led deputies on a chase and eventually eluded them, Cotney said.

When the deputies returned to the house, they found all of the components of a meth lab, though no finished product was recovered.

Deputies contacted the Drug Enforcement Agency. Agents arrived to help process the scene and remove the hazardous elements of the lab.

Moncus turned himself in to the Sheriff's Department later Wednesday evening. He was charged with a bond violation and manufacturing a controlled substance. He was in Clay County Jail Thursday. No bond had been set.

Services set for 4 children allegedly thrown from bridge

Associated Press

01-25-2008

BAYOU LA BATRE — Services are planned Saturday for four children whose bodies were recovered from coastal waters after they were allegedly thrown from the Dauphin Island bridge by their father.

A public memorial at the Bayou La Batre Community Center is planned for the children, Ryan Phan, 3; Hannah Luong, 2; Lindsey Luong, 1; and Danny Luong, 4 months, all of Irvington.

A graveside service will be held at Oddfellows Cemetery.

Family members have also organized an appreciation dinner Saturday evening for the people who searched the Alabama and Mississippi waterways during the past two weeks for the children's bodies.

Police said Lam Luong, 37, confessed to throwing the children from the 80-foot-tall bridge on Jan. 7, following an argument with his wife, 23-year-old Kieu Phan. Luong later recanted that confession.

Luong, a native of Vietnam, has been charged with capital murder. A preliminary hearing in Mobile County Circuit Court is set for March 5.

Fairfield man convicted of murdering police officer

Associated Press

01-25-2008

BIRMINGHAM — A man charged with killing a Fairfield police officer and wounding a fellow officer was convicted of capital murder Thursday.

Demetrius Avery Jackson, Jr., 22, of Fairfield, was convicted by a Jefferson County jury on its second day of deliberations.

He was convicted in the Oct. 23, 2006 shooting death of Officer Mary Smith, 48, as she answered a call about a suspicious vehicle in a Fairfield neighborhood. He also was found guilty of attempted murder for wounding Officer Erick Burpo, who was shot in the thigh as he arrived seconds later.

Jurors turn next to the penalty phase. They can either recommend Jackson be sentenced to death or to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Former chancellor agrees to plead guilty to 15 counts

By Jay Reeves
Associated Press

01-25-2008

Roy Johnson, former chancellor of Alabama's two-year college system, is shown at a news conference in Montgomery in this file photo. Johnson has admitted his guilt in a far-reaching bribery case that authorities said Thursday could send him to federal prison for years, wipe him out financially and lead to charges against some state legislators and others. Photo: Dave Martin/Associated Press file photo

BIRMINGHAM — For nearly three years, the big question surrounding an investigation of Alabama's two-year colleges was when might prosecutors go after Roy Johnson, the fired chancellor of the system.

There's a new question now that Johnson has agreed to plead guilty in the scandal: What other state leaders could get swept up in the mess?

Johnson has admitted his guilt in a far-reaching bribery case that authorities said Thursday could send him to federal prison for years, wipe him out financially and lead to charges against state legislators and others.

Plea alleges Jenkins made phony bill for work

By Dan Whisenhunt
Star Staff Writer

01-25-2008

A plea agreement by former two-year college chancellor Roy Johnson announced on Thursday names Anniston architect Julian Jenkins as part of a wide-ranging scandal involving the state's two-year college system.

When Johnson learned of a federal investigation into the scandal, he had Jenkins send him a phony bill for work the architect did on his Opelika home, the plea agreement states.

Jenkins, contacted Thursday evening, denied he had done anything wrong.

He also disputed one of the U.S. attorney's accounts of events leading up to Johnson's plea deal.

Johnson is pleading guilty to 15 federal charges related to corruption in the college system, including six different conspiracies, U.S. Attorney Alice Martin announced Thursday.

Montgomery man charged in stabbing death

PRATTVILLE, Ala. (AP) -- Prattville police are investigating the city's first homicide of 2008. According to Police Chief Alfred Wadsworth, 46-year-old David Russell Lucht was attacked in his apartment and died after he was stabbed in the neck.

Police said the homicide occurred yesterday (Wednesday) around 4:30 p.m. at an apartment complex off Alabama 14, located near Interstate 65.

Wadsworth said officers arrested 24-year-old Julian Brett Watson of Montgomery and charged him with Lucht's murder. No motive was given.

Watson was placed in the Autauga Metro Jail under a $75,000 bond.

Officers can't enforce traffic laws on many McClellan roads

By Megan Nichols
Star Staff Writer

01-24-2008

Although McClellan has been a part of the city of Anniston for nearly seven years, Anniston police officers cannot write tickets for traffic violations like speeding or running stop signs on many of the former fort's roads.

The issue came to light at Tuesday's JPA planning committee meeting when members were discussing closing Littlebrant Road. Residents of The Homes at Summerall subdivision had requested the closure due to increased traffic traveling at excessive speeds.

Polly Russell, Anniston's city attorney, said that when McClellan was annexed into the city, only the property was annexed — not the roads. She said this was because the roads needed to be at required city standards before they could be accepted by the city, something that would take a substantial amount of time and money.

Therefore, most of McClellan's roads remain owned by the Joint Powers Authority and are considered private. Russell said state law prohibits Anniston police officers from writing tickets on roads that are not in their jurisdiction.

Anniston Police Chief John Dryden said that his officers could arrest someone for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol on the roads, but not for other traffic infractions. The police department is responsible for crime in the area, he said.

"We'll do anything we can to protect the public, but in some instances we can't put up stop signs or enforce speed limits that we didn't put out there," he said. "It becomes a question of whether we can enforce a speed limit that was put in place by the Army on a road the city doesn't own. We can't."

Looking beyond the traffic stop

By Matt Elofson
The Eufaula Tribune

Officer Chris Craft spotted bad brake lights on a Chevrolet Yukon. Moments later he arrested three men on marijuana charges.

The Ozark officer seized about half a pound of marijuana during the September traffic stop that landed 24-year-old Miles Ansley, and two passengers, in jail on drug charges.
Two months later police charged three men with shooting Ansley to death during what police called a robbery motivated by drugs.

Ozark Deputy Police Chief Myron Williams said there is a clear link between drugs and violent crime. It is a link he feels can be broken, or at least deterred, through the use of highway interdiction.

"The reason I wanted to get the program started is to capture the drugs before they reach the street level, and to go after the money to take the profit out of it," Williams said. "We had three homicides in 2007 within 33 days, and all three of those homicides we had drugs involved."

Cpl. Jimmy Culbreath, who started the law enforcement training seminar "Spread the Web" in 2003, has been hired to head the department's narcotics unit.

"We kind of took the spider as our mascot," Culbreath said. "Each officer represents a spider, and we're training them to recognize the criminal element" with each spider reaching into the community to snare the criminals.

Williams said officers trained in the techniques of highway interdiction help clean up communities, and without a doubt, the practice takes some drugs off the street.

"When it (drugs) comes in here you certainly have a rise in your violent crime," Williams said. "If we can hopefully curtail the drug trade somewhat ... what we're doing is making our community safer."

Jeffco jury to decide man's fate in officer slaying

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- A Jefferson County jury today is expected to begin deliberating the fate of a man accused of killing a Fairfield police officer.

The trial for 22-year-old Demetrius Jackson Junior, also of Fairfield, began a week ago today. Prosecutors and defense attorneys rested their cases yesterday.

Jackson is charged with capital murder in the October 23rd, 2006 shooting death of Officer Mary Smith, who was 48. He also faces an attempted murder charge for wounding fellow Officer Erick Burpo.

If Jackson is convicted of capital murder, prosecutors previously said they plan to seek the death penalty.

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Information From: The Birmingham News

Man dies in accident at Tuscaloosa water plant

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -- Authorities in Tuscaloosa say a pipefitter employed by a Birmingham-based company was killed in a construction accident yesterday.

Police said 27-year-old Ryan Lawrence of Bremen (Cullman County) was testing a water line when the huge steel pipe, weighing thousands of pounds, fell and crushed him. Lawrence was taken to DCH Regional Medical Center where he died.

The accident occurred at about 9 a.m. at Tuscaloosa's new water treatment plant.

Lawrence was employed by Brasfield and Gorrie.

Carbon monoxide suspected in 2 deaths

CHICKASAW, Ala. (AP) -- Two family members died and a third was in critical condition in what police suspect was the result of carbon monoxide at a Chickasaw home.

The survivor, Tashiera Parker, 30, was in critical condition Wednesday at the University of South Alabama Medical Center.

Parker's family members identified the dead as Tashiera Parker's 31-year-old brother, Brett Parker, and her 15-year-old daughter, Cheryl Parker.

Mobile Fire-Rescue Department's hazardous materials unit later determined that carbon monoxide had filled the house, according to Chickasaw police.

The bodies were found Tuesday night by Chickasaw police and family members who had contacted authorities when no one answered phone calls to the residence, said Diane Jones, the survivor's first cousin.

"I saw two cars in the driveway. The lights were out," Jones told the Press-Register. "I just called 911."

Jones said she went to the back door of the house and smelled a foul odor.

Several family members said Tashiera Parker had complained of dizziness in November, but had not had the house inspected.

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Information from: Press-Register, http://www.al.com/mobileregister

Ohatchee woman killed in car wreck; 2 children injured

By Nick Cenegy
Star Staff Writer

01-23-2008

Two children remained in Regional Medical Center Tuesday after a single-car wreck claimed the life of their mother Monday night.

Sabrina Dunaway, 39, of Ohatchee, was driving a 1985 Olds Cutlass on the 3000 block of Mudd Street around 8:20 p.m. when she lost control and the car rolled over, said Calhoun County Coroner Pat Brown.

When authorities arrived, the car was upside down in a shallow ditch and Dunaway was trapped, he said.

She was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:45 p.m., Brown said.

Brown said Dunaway died from blunt-force trauma to her head.

The two children who were in the car with her were taken to Regional Medical Center. The extent of the children's injuries was unknown Tuesday but they both had been admitted to the hospital.

State troopers are still investigating the accident.

Teen injured in car accident near Heflin

By Nick Cenegy
Star Staff Writer

01-23-2008

A 17-year-old girl was air-lifted to UAB Hospital in Birmingham after a single-vehicle accident on Interstate 20 a few miles from Heflin on Saturday.

Heflin Fire Department and Cleburne County EMS responded to the accident at mile marker 202 minutes before 2 p.m.

Fire Chief Rudy Rooks said the 17-year-old was ejected from a late-model Jeep Cherokee after it left the road and rolled over.

Rooks said the girl and the driver, Brett Stone-Cipher, no age given, were both Georgia residents, though the fire department's report did not list their exact address.

The two were apparently heading back home after a youth trip in Birmingham when Stone-Cipher drove off the road, then turned back across the highway and flipped, said Rooks.

When authorities arrived, they found the 17-year-old with major injuries. Rooks said he wasn't aware of her condition Tuesday.

Pair of assailants attack man with bottles at bar

By Nick Cenegy
Star Staff Writer

01-23-2008

A 22-year-old man was attacked and hit with a beer bottle early Sunday morning at AJ's Sunset Bar and Grill.

The man got into a dispute with two other men at the bar on Hillyer Robinson Industrial Parkway around 1:45 a.m., Anniston police reported.

He told police the two men struck him in the face with beer bottles and hit him with their fists.

The cause of the incident was not immediately clear, though the victim and one of the men were acquaintances, said investigators.

According to police, the 22-year-old was transported to Regional Medical Center for evaluation and treatment of injuries.

No arrests had been made Tuesday afternoon regarding the incident.

Anniston man robbed of assault rifle by an acquaintance Friday

By Nick Cenegy
Star Staff Writer

01-23-2008

An acquaintance robbed a 20-year-old Anniston man of his assault rifle Friday evening.

The 20-year-old Reaves Road resident took a black SKS rifle to a residence to sell it to another man around 6 p.m., reported Anniston police.

According to investigators, the 20-year-old realized the man didn't have any money, and he left with his weapon.

The acquaintance chased him, caught up with him, and pushed him down. Then he struck the 20-year-old in the head several times and took the rifle, investigators reported.

No medical treatment was rendered on scene. Police had made no arrests Tuesday afternoon.

Anniston yogurt store robbed by pair of men

By Nick Cenegy
Star Staff Writer

01-23-2008

Two men robbed the TCBY yogurt store at 1903 Quintard Ave. on Thursday evening.

Employees told Anniston police two men in their late teens or early 20s came into the store around 7:30 p.m.

According to police, the men approached the counter and demanded money before fleeing on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash.

No injuries were reported in the incident. No suspects related to the case were in custody Tuesday afternoon.

Missing Anniston man arrested in Gadsden

By Nick Cenegy
Star Staff Writer

01-23-2008

Anniston police, with the assistance of the Etowah County Sheriff's Office, located and arrested a 22-year-old man missing since Christmas Day.

Louis Fenton Brown III, of the 200 block of Mulberry Avenue, was taken into custody at a motel in Gadsden Tuesday morning on outstanding warrants, said Anniston police investigators.

Brown's family told police he was last seen Christmas Day in Anniston after he and his wife got into a minor argument.

Initially, police had no leads but acting on information they received late last week, they located Brown.

Police said Brown was in Anniston City Jail on Tuesday afternoon being held until bond can be set by district court.

Woman killed, 2 kids hospitalized in Monday night wreck

By Nick Cenegy
Star Staff Writer

Updated 10:52 a.m.

Two children remain in Regional Medical Center this morning after a single-car wreck claimed the life of their mother Monday night.

Sabrina Dunnaway, 39, of Ohatchee, was driving a 1985 Olds Cutlass on the 3000 block of Mudd Street around 8:20 p.m. when she lost control and the car rolled over, said Calhoun County Coroner Pat Brown.

Dunnaway was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:45 p.m., Brown said.

Brown said Dunnaway died from blunt-force trauma to her head.

The two children who were in the car with her were taken to Regional Medical Center. The extent of the children’s injuries was unknown Tuesday morning but they both had been admitted to the hospital.

State troopers are still investigating the accident.

AG to protest possible parole for killer of Etowah County lawman

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- Alabama Attorney General Troy King plans to appear at today's parole board hearing for Connie Tozzi. King said he will oppose the convicted killer's release from prison.

Tozzi was convicted of murdering Etowah County Drug Task Force Commander Chris McCurley and for the attempted murder of three other task force officers - Gary Entrekin, Rick Correll and Khris Yancey on October 10th, 1997. She is serving four sentences of 40 years each.

Tozzie and a co-defendant, Ezra Petersen, were found guilty. While on death rown, Petersen hanged himself.

The hearing starts at 9 a.m.

Arson ruled as cause of fire at Chilton County church

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- The state Fire Marshal's Office says the fire at Maples Springs Baptist Church was arson. The church burned the ground on December 29th.

Investigators have not determined if the blaze is related to a fire at Providence Number 1 Baptist Church that was deliberately set a week later (Saturday) in north Chilton County. Authorities described the Providence fire as an apparent arson and burglary.

No arrests have been made.

Room damaged in Oxford hotel fire

By Judy Johnson
Assistant Metro Editor

01-20-2008

A fire caused by an electrical short in a bathroom at the Oxford Travel Lodge destroyed the unit where it started and damaged at least four others Saturday evening.

No one was injured.

Oxford Fire Chief Gary Sparks said late Saturday night that three rooms were damaged by fire and two others received water damage.

The hotel was vacated because the firefighters had to shut off the electricity. It will remain shut down for the near future, Sparks said.

According to the fire department log, the alarm was called in from the 40-unit hotel near Wal-Mart on Alabama 21 at 6:40 p.m. It took about a half-hour to put the fire out, Sparks said, but firefighters remained at the hotel for several hours doing cleanup work and investigating the cause.

Sparks said it was not clear whether anyone was in the room at the time the fire started.

Police looking for missing Ky. girl

By Nick Cenegy
Star Staff Writer

01-19-2008

Anniston police are looking for information about a missing 16-year-old girl from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, who may be in the Anniston or Jacksonville area.

Shanise Phillips was last seen Dec. 19 in Kentucky.

Family members have reason to believe she may be in the company of sisters Valeria Mack, 16, of Anniston and Laquita Mack, 18, of Jacksonville, investigators said.

Police said it's unclear whether Phillips is at risk.

Phillips is described as 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs approximately 125 pounds. She has light-brown skin, brown eyes and black or brown hair.

Anyone with information regarding Phillips' whereabouts is asked to call Anniston Police at 238-1800 or Crimestoppers at 238-1414.

Police discover alleged meth lab during traffic stop

By Nick Cenegy
Star Staff Writer

01-19-2008

Oxford police made three arrests Tuesday morning after allegedly discovering a mobile methamphetamine lab during a traffic stop.

Around 10:45 a.m., an officer stopped a tan and white 1985 Chevrolet Blazer driven by Harold Wayne George III, 32, for allegedly swerving in traffic.

According to police, George handed the officer a non-driver identification card. The officer asked the four passengers of the vehicle for ID as well.

One woman was arrested on an outstanding Anniston warrant. She was picked up at the scene by a warrant officer from the Anniston police.

When she was taken into custody, police searched where she was sitting in the vehicle and found a needle and other drug paraphernalia, investigators said.

Police said the driver, George, tried to flee by running across several lanes of northbound traffic.

George climbed over the fence of a transmission shop and fell down the other side before police took him into custody, police said.

The two other occupants of the vehicle remained seated in the back. They directed police to the back of the vehicle, where a search revealed a mobile meth lab, police said.

The vehicle was impounded and taken into Oxford Police Drug Unit custody for cleanup.

One of the passengers, Benjamin Marion Cheatwood, 27, of Eastaboga was charged with first-degree manufacturing of a controlled substance and three counts of possession of a controlled substance. He was in Calhoun County Jail Friday afternoon with bail set at $345,000.

The other passenger, Deirdre Diane Surrett, 33, of Anniston was charged with first-degree manufacturing of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was being held the Calhoun County Jail with bail set at $301,000.

George was charged with first-degree manufacturing of a controlled substance, first-degree possession of a controlled substance, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. He was being held Friday afternoon at the Calhoun County Jail with bail set at $317,000.

Alabama may consider death for child rape

By Markeshia Ricks
Star Capitol Correspondent

01-20-2008

MONTGOMERY — Although 36 states administer the death penalty, just seven recognize the rape of a child as a crime punishable by death.

The death penalty typically is reserved for criminals who murder their victims. But in Texas, Florida, Montana, Georgia, South Carolina, Louisiana and Oklahoma it also can be applied to child rape.

With the 2008 session of the Legislature set to start in two weeks, Alabama could join those states.

Two local legislators say they will try to get a bill passed in Alabama this year, and will not be deterred by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to review the appeal of a Louisiana man sentenced to death for raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter.

Rep. Randy Wood, R-Anniston, said he has seen the research, and habitual sex offenders, especially those who prey on children, don't always get better.

"Anyone who can harm a little kid, especially in that way — there's no rehabilitating them," Wood said. "If we're not going to give them the death penalty, we need to at least make sure they never see the light of day again."

Body found possibly last of 4 kids allegedly tossed off bridge

By Garry Mitchell
Associated Press

01-21-2008

MOBILE — A body believed to be the last of four children who were allegedly tossed from a coastal Alabama bridge by their father was recovered Sunday morning, authorities said.

The body of an Asian child was found about 10 a.m. in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana by two vessels who contacted Coast Guard officials, who then took the body to Venice, La., Mobile County Sheriff Sam Cochran said.

Authorities in Alabama will not be able to confirm whether the body is that of Hannah Luong, 2, until they get it back, Cochran said. But they ended the search of Alabama and Mississippi coastal waters based on the body's recovery about 100 miles from the Dauphin Island bridge where the search began.

Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Cheri Ben-Iesau in New Orleans said the crew of the Crystal Lynn first spotted the body and contacted the Coast Guard, which was unable to find it during an aerial sweep of the waters. A second vessel then saw it, leading to the recovery about 5.5 miles due east of the mouth of the Mississippi River, Ben-Iesau said.

"We believe — and hopefully — this will be the body of 2-year-old Hannah and that we'll able to bring closure to the family in this stage," Cochran said.

Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson Jr. said the local medical examiner will contact Louisiana authorities in hopes of returning the body to Mobile as soon as possible. The child's mother was notified of the recovery.

2-year-old son of radio personality Rick Burgess drowns at family home

By Judy Johnson
Assistant Metro Editor

01-21-2008

BIRMINGHAM — The 2-year-old son of Rick Burgess, a Calhoun County native and well-known radio personality, drowned Saturday night at his family's Shelby County home, according to information from the Shelby County Sheriff's Department.

William Bronner Burgess, the youngest son of the "Rick and Bubba Show" co-host, was pronounced dead Saturday night at Children's Hospital, according to a statement released by Shelby County Sheriff Chris Curry.

An on-line news release posted by the sheriff's department said sheriff's deputies and North Shelby Fire and Emergency Medical personnel responded to the Burgess residence on Indian Crest Drive in Indian Springs Village around 7:24 p.m. Saturday and discovered that the 2-year-old had fallen into a swimming pool.

Atlanta company collects names, job titles, salaries of millions

By Carrie Teegardin
Cox News Service

01-20-2008

ATLANTA — Most Americans carefully guard the details of their paychecks, sharing this information with only the boss, the spouse and the Internal Revenue Service.

But these days, someone else is in on the secret.

The Work Number, a little-known product of Atlanta-based Equifax, captures the salaries and job titles of 46 million Americans every time they collect a paycheck. That represents about a third of the American work force.

For the past decade, The Work Number has been warehousing and selling this information to lenders and employers who want to verify incomes or conduct background checks.

Dozens of large Georgia employers send their employment information to The Work Number, including Coca-Cola, UPS, Home Depot, Delta Air Lines, Georgia-Pacific, Georgia Power and Emory University.

Foes use 19th-century law to launch grand jury investigations of clinics

By Roxana Hegeman
Associated Press

01-20-2008

WICHITA, Kan. — Religious conservatives have dusted off a largely forgotten 1887 state law that allows citizens to launch grand jury investigations, and they are using it to help turn Kansas into one of the nation's biggest abortion battlegrounds.

A grand jury that was impaneled Jan. 8 by way of a citizen petition drive is investigating Dr. George Tiller, a Wichita clinic operator abhorred by anti-abortion activists because he is one of the nation's few physicians who perform late-term abortions. This is the second such citizen investigation of Tiller since 2006.

Phillip Jauregui, counsel for the anti-abortion Life Legal Defense Foundation, said Kansans are invoking the 19th-century law because prosecutors are too soft on abortion.

"This is a right the people of Kansas have given themselves," he said.

But others say the law is a dangerous tool.

Fake identities online draw eye of law

By Tim Barker
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

01-20-2008

ST. LOUIS — After wrapping up his work in the Star Wars saga, Darth Vader settled down in Allentown, Pa. At least, that's what his Facebook page says.

Actually, there are at least a dozen people on the popular networking site claiming to be the famous villain-turned-hero, which tells us two things: There's a lot of obvious lying going on and there's not much being done to discourage it.

Both Facebook and MySpace have rules prohibiting participants from pretending to be someone else. But with droves of users — MySpace alone says it has more than 70 million — neither site is in the business of aggressively policing identity.

And they don't have to. Sites like MySpace can't be held liable for the actions of users, according to a ruling last year by a federal judge in Texas. The only time people come close to getting in trouble for using a false identity is when they commit a crime. But it's the crime that brings charges. Using a fake persona is not a crime.

But soon it could be.

This month, federal officials in Los Angeles revealed they are investigating whether fraud was involved when 13-year-old Megan Meier hanged herself in 2006 after being taunted on MySpace by someone using a fake identity.