Release: IRS Warns of New E-Mail and Telephone Scams Using the IRS Name;

Press release

IRS Warns of New E-Mail and Telephone Scams Using the IRS Name; Advance Payment Scams Starting

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today warned taxpayers to beware of several current e-mail and telephone scams that use the IRS name as a lure. The IRS expects such scams to continue through the end of tax return filing season and beyond.

The IRS cautioned taxpayers to be on the lookout for scams involving proposed advance payment checks. Although the government has not yet enacted an economic stimulus package in which the IRS would provide advance payments, known informally as rebates to many Americans, a scam which uses the proposed rebates as bait has already cropped up.

The goal of the scams is to trick people into revealing personal and financial information, such as Social Security, bank account or credit card numbers, which the scammers can use to commit identity theft.

Typically, identity thieves use a victim’s personal and financial data to empty the victim’s financial accounts, run up charges on the victim’s existing credit cards, apply for new loans, credit cards, services or benefits in the victim’s name, file fraudulent tax returns or even commit crimes. Most of these fraudulent activities can be committed electronically from a remote location, including overseas. Committing these activities in cyberspace allows scamsters to act quickly and cover their tracks before the victim becomes aware of the theft.

People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years — and their hard-earned money — cleaning up the mess thieves have made of their reputations and credit records. In the meantime, victims may lose job opportunities, may be refused loans, education, housing or cars, or even get arrested for crimes they didn't commit.

The most recent scams brought to IRS attention are described below.

Rebate Phone Call

At least one scheme using the word “rebate” as part of the lure has been identified. In that scam, consumers receive a phone call from someone identifying himself as an IRS employee. The caller tells the targeted victim that he is eligible for a sizable rebate for filing his taxes early. The caller then states that he needs the target’s bank account information for the direct deposit of the rebate. If the target refuses, he is told that he cannot receive the rebate.

This phone call is a scam. No legislation has yet been enacted that would allow the IRS to provide advance payments to taxpayers or that determines the details of those payments. Moreover, the IRS does not force taxpayers to use direct deposit. Those who opt for direct deposit do so by completing the appropriate section of their tax return, with bank routing and account information, when they file; the IRS does not gather the information by telephone.

Refund e-Mail

The IRS has seen several variations of a refund-related bogus e-mail which falsely claims to come from the IRS, tells the recipient that he or she is eligible for a tax refund for a specific amount, and instructs the recipient to click on a link in the e-mail to access a refund claim form. The form asks the recipient to enter personal information that the scamsters can then use to access the e-mail recipient’s bank or credit card account.

In a new wrinkle, the current version of the refund scam includes two paragraphs that appear to be directed toward tax-exempt organizations that distribute funds to other organizations or individuals. The e-mail contains the name and supposed signature of the Director of the IRS’s Exempt Organizations business division.

This e-mail is a phony. The IRS does not send unsolicited e-mail about tax account matters to individual, business, tax-exempt or other taxpayers.

Filing a tax return is the only way to apply for a tax refund; there is no separate application form. Taxpayers who wish to find out if they are due a refund from their last annual tax return filing may use the “Where’s My Refund?” interactive application on the IRS Web site at IRS.gov. The only official IRS Web site is located at www.irs.gov.

Audit e-Mail

Another new scam brought to IRS attention contains features not seen before by the IRS. Using a technique calculated to get almost anyone’s attention, the e-mail notifies the recipient that his or her tax return will be audited. This is the first scam of which the IRS is aware that uses this to get the victim to respond.

Unusual for a scam e-mail, it may contain a salutation in the body addressed to the specific recipient by name. Most scam e-mails seen by the IRS are sent using the same technique used by spammers, in which hundreds of thousands of messages are sent to potential victims based on Internet address. Because of the volume, the typical scam e-mail is not personalized.

This e-mail instructs the recipient to click on links to complete forms with personal and account information, which the scammers will use to commit identity theft.

This e-mail is a phony. The IRS does not send unsolicited, tax-account related e-mails to taxpayers.

Changes to Tax Law e-Mail

This bogus e-mail is addressed to businesses, accountants and “Treasury” managers. It instructs them to download information on tax law changes by clicking on a series of links to publications on businesses, estate taxes, excise taxes, exempt organizations and IRAs and other retirement plans. The IRS believes that clicking on a link downloads malware onto the recipient’s computer. Malware is malicious code that can take over the victim’s computer hard drive, giving someone remote access to the computer, or it could look for passwords and other information and send them to the scamster. There are other types of malware, as well.

The urls contained in the link are not legitimate IRS Web addresses. All IRS.gov Web page addresses begin with http://www.irs.gov/.

Paper Check Phone Call

In a current telephone scam, a caller claims to be an IRS employee who is calling because the IRS sent a check to the individual being called. The caller states that because the check has not been cashed, the IRS wants to verify the individual’s bank account number. The caller may have a foreign accent.

In reality, the IRS leaves it entirely up to the individual to choose to cash or not cash a paper check. The IRS has no business need to know, and does not ask for, bank account or similar information, except when taxpayers indicate on their tax return that they are opting for the direct electronic deposit of their refund. In that case, however, it is the individual’s responsibility to provide the IRS with the correct bank routing and account numbers on the tax return; the IRS does not contact taxpayers to verify the information.

What to Do

Anyone wishing to access the IRS Web site should initiate contact by typing the IRS.gov address into their Internet address window, rather than clicking on a link in an e-mail or opening an attachment.

Those who have received a questionable e-mail claiming to come from the IRS may forward it to a mailbox the IRS has established to receive such e-mails, phishing@irs.gov, using instructions contained in an article on IRS.gov titled “How to Protect Yourself from Suspicious E-Mails or Phishing Schemes.” Following the instructions will help the IRS track the suspicious e-mail to its origins and shut down the scam. Find the article by visiting IRS.gov and entering the words “suspicious e-mails” into the search box in the upper right corner of the front page.

Those who have received a questionable telephone call that claims to come from the IRS may also use the phishing@irs.gov mailbox to notify the IRS of the scam.

The IRS has issued previous warnings on scams that use the IRS to lure victims into believing the scam is legitimate. More information on identity theft, phishing and telephone scams using the IRS name, logo or spoofed (copied) Web site is available on the IRS Web site at IRS.gov. Enter the terms “phishing,” “identity theft” or “e-mail scams” into the search box in the upper right corner of the front page.

Related Items:

• FS-2008-9, Identity Theft E-Mails Scams a Growing Problem
• IR-2007-109, IRS Warns Taxpayers of New E-mail Scams
• Suspicious e-Mails and Identity Theft
  

Supreme Court reviews Alabama inmate's bid for stay of execution

ATMORE, Ala. (AP) -- Alabama death row inmate James Harvey Callahan faced lethal injection Thursday as the U.S. Supreme Court considered his bid to halt his execution until the high court rules on the method of execution.

Callahan's attorney turned to the Supreme Court with a request for a stay on Wednesday after a federal appeals court lifted a stay granted by a Montgomery judge.

The Supreme Court on Jan. 7 heard oral arguments in a Kentucky challenge to lethal injection, a case that has delayed executions nationwide. A ruling in that case is unlikely before spring.

Alabama uses lethal injection in its executions, and questions about the procedure led to a death row inmate being granted a stay by the nation's high court last year as his execution neared.

In a 2-1 decision Tuesday, the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the stay of Callahan's granted by U.S. District Judge Keith Watkins in Montgomery on Dec. 14.

The court said Callahan waited too late to challenge the method of execution.

Callahan's execution was set for 6 p.m. Thursday at Holman prison near Atmore. He was sentenced to death for the kidnapping, rape and murder of Jacksonville State University student Rebecca Suzanne Howell on Feb. 4, 1982.

Authorities said she was abducted from a coin laundry in Jacksonville and raped before being strangled and dumped in Tallasseehatchee Creek.

In lifting the stay, the 11th Circuit ruling said it did not make any finding on "the relative merits of Callahan's constitutional claim because we conclude the claim is barred by the statue of limitations."

On Dec. 5, the Supreme Court stopped the execution of another Alabama death row inmate, Tommy Arthur, one day before he was scheduled to die by lethal injection at Holman prison. That stay also stemmed from the pending Kentucky case.

Stopping the death march

In our opinion

01-31-2008

Leave it to Hank Sanders, the Democratic state senator from Selma, to make a lonely, courageous stand.

This week he held a press conference calling again for a moratorium on the death penalty in Alabama. It is an unpopular stand to take in our state, where the attorney general makes capital punishment a campaign issue and the vast majority of our state lawmakers constantly demagogue the issue.

Sanders' style of reason often gets kicked to the side of the road in Alabama.

The senator knows and has the guts to say that the criminal-justice system in this state is not equipped to deal with capital punishment. Yes, the law allows for lengthy appeals, but the dispensation of the death penalty is unequal and the legal representation given to the accused often is inadequate.

The good senator might be a lonely man in Alabama, but he is in good company nationwide. A number of states already have put the breaks on the death penalty, waiting for key U.S. Supreme Court decisions to come down before moving forward and using the time to evaluate their systems.

The American Bar Association also finds the practice wanting, pointing out that since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, some 100 condemned people have been freed from death row. So it, too, has called for a moratorium.

Sanders will be hounded for this, but he won't let it slow his drive to right a broken system. He has brought the issue up every year since 2001, and he will bring it up again next year.

One of these days, if we are lucky, lawmakers will actually hear what he is trying to say.

Star Editorial Page Opinion: Going against the trend: Alabama and the death penalty

In our opinion

01-31-2008

For proponents of the death penalty, the end of last year and beginning of this one has been difficult. Before examining the facts, a disclaimer: The editorial board of The Anniston Star is a longtime opponent of the death penalty, particularly because of the inequitable way it is applied. To say nothing of the life-and-death moral quandary it puts a state and its citizenry in.

With that out of the way, here's what's going on.

In December, New Jersey banned capital punishment, the first state to do so in 42 years.

Three more death-row inmates were exonerated in 2007, joining more than 100 whose trip to the death chambers has been halted thanks to DNA testing.

Executions fell to their lowest level in 13 years.

Criminal convictions resulting in death sentences last year were off by 60 percent when compared with 1999.

The Supreme Court agreed to rule on whether lethal injections constituted cruel and unusual punishment, a move which created an unofficial moratorium on executions for the second half of '07.

Something, as the song says, is happening here.

Well, not everywhere and certainly not in Alabama.

The Star's Markeshia Ricks recently outlined how Alabama is considering moving against the trend of fewer state executions.

When the next session of the Alabama Legislature begins Tuesday, it will consider a bill that would apply the death penalty to child rapists.

Rep. Randy Wood, R-Anniston, and Rep. Steve Hurst, D-Munford, are among those lawmakers hoping to add to the list of crimes worthy of capital punishment.

The criminals they target are certainly worthy of punishment. No one is arguing that point. Those who would commit sex crimes against young children are sick, worthy of being removed from society, and permanently locked away if rehabilitation and treatment eludes them.

But the death penalty offers no margin for mistakes, much less rehabilitation. One needs look no further than one county in Texas where 15 former inmates have been cleared by DNA testing since 2001. Though those 15 were convicted of less than capital offenses, we can see the unreasonable burden the death penalty places on states that decide to implement the ultimate punishment in a system administered by a flawed human system.

Aruba probing new Holloway case evidence

By Margaret Wever
Associated Press Writer

Updated 10:58 a.m.

ORANJESTAD, Aruba — Aruban prosecutors said Thursday that authorities are investigating new evidence in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway provided by a Dutch crime reporter.

Information from reporter Peter R. de Vries may help resolve what happened to the American teenager, who vanished during a May 2005 school vacation to the Dutch Caribbean island, the prosecutor's office said in a statement.

The statement did not say specifically what the new evidence was.

"This information may shed a new light on the mode of which Natalee Holloway has died and the method by which her body disappeared," the prosecutor's office said.

De Vries had a testy exchange earlier this month during a televised interview in the Netherlands with Joran van der Sloot, a Dutch man who was a suspect in the case.

Van der Sloot, who was among the last people seen with Holloway, threw wine at De Vries after the reporter challenged his credibility.

Prosecutors dismissed their case against Van der Sloot and two other suspects last month, saying they lacked evidence to charge them or even prove a crime was committed. Authorities have said the case could be reopened if new evidence surfaces.

Holloway, of Alabama, disappeared the final night of her high school graduation trip. She was 18 at the time.

She was last seen leaving a bar with Van der Sloot and two Surinamese brothers, Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, hours before she was due to board a flight home. The three men have been repeatedly detained as suspects but have denied any wrongdoing.

2 charged in Alabama church arson case

Associated Press

Updated 10:58 a.m.

CLANTON — Two men who allegedly broke into a rural church and set it ablaze last month were arrested on arson and burglary charges, authorities said Thursday.

Billy Ray and Brian Henry, both 31, were charged in a fire that heavily damaged Providence Baptist Church in northern Chilton County on Jan. 12.

"This investigation is by no means over," said State Fire Marshal Ed Paulk. "In fact, we anticipate that further arrests will be made."

The men were held in the Chilton County Jail, awaiting a bond hearing and records did not indicate whether either man had a lawyer. Authorities said the suspects live together in a rural area south of Calera.

Investigators are still trying to determine if the blaze was linked to suspicious fire that destroyed another Chilton County church on Dec. 29.

"We're working as hard as we can to bring closure to these churches and to bring those responsible to justice," said Sheriff Kevin Davis.

Tuscaloosa man sentenced for baiting mourning doves for hunters

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 30, 2008


A Tuscaloosa man, Forrest L. Wiggins, today received a total fine of
$9,050 for placing bait on his property to lure and attract mourning
doves for hunters. He also was banned from offering commercial hunting
on his property for a period of one year.

On January 3, 2008, United States Magistrate Judge Robert R. Armstrong
Jr. for the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Alabama
found Wiggins guilty of the federal misdemeanor. Although a bench trial
was previously held on November 19, 2007, Judge Armstrong did not rule
from the bench, opting to allow the government and defense counsel the
opportunity to prepare closing post-trial briefs.

An investigation conducted by law enforcement officers from the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service and the Alabama Division of Wildlife and
Freshwater Fisheries revealed Wiggins hosted a paid dove hunt on
September 16, 2006. Approximately 35 hunters paid $150 each to hunt on
Wiggins’ property. Investigators documented the presence of a
substantial amount of wheat seed scattered across Wiggins’ property, two
days prior to the hunt. Several hours before the hunt took place, the
federal wildlife agent discovered a portion of the property had been
burned, making the light colored wheat seed more visible against the
charred vegetation.

Title 16 U.S.C. Section 704 (b)(2) makes it unlawful for a person to
place or direct the placement of bait on or adjacent to an area for the
purpose of causing, inducing, or allowing any person to take or attempt
to take any migratory game bird by the aid of baiting on or over the
baited area. Under federal regulations a baited area means any area on
which salt, grain, or other feed has been placed, exposed, deposited,
distributed, or scattered, if that salt, grain, or other feed could
serve as a lure or attraction for migratory game birds to, on, or over
areas where hunters are attempting to take them. Any such area will
remain a baited area for 10 days following the complete removal of all
such salt, grain, or other feed.

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will work closely with the states to
enforce the baiting laws and regulations under the Migratory Bird Treaty
Act,” said John Rawls, Special Agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.

Special Agent Rawls and Lt. Todd Draper with the Alabama Wildlife and
Freshwater Fisheries, Law Enforcement Section conducted the
investigation. The case was prosecuted by Scarlet Singleton, Assistant
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama.

For more information about federal laws governing hunting migratory
birds, visit http://www.fws.gov/hunting/whatres.html

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others
to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their
habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both
a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known
for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural
resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For
more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit
www.fws.gov or
http://www.fws.gov/southeast/.

Release: Public Safety Opens New Mobile State Trooper Post, Announces 2008 Highway Safety Initiative

Press Release

MOBILE — The Alabama Department of Public Safety officially opened Mobile’s new State Trooper Post Wednesday at an open house attended by legislators, law enforcement officials, DPS staff and others.

The new post, located next to ABI and Driver License offices at 3402 Demetropolis Road, replaces the aging, dilapidated Government Boulevard facility troopers had worked from since 1965, according to Public Safety Director Col. J. Christopher Murphy.

Murphy credited Gov. Bob Riley and the Alabama Legislature with facilitating the move, saying that Riley signed the lease on the new facility after sending his chief of staff to view firsthand the inadequate conditions at the old post.

“Thanks to Gov. Riley and our legislators, we now have a serviceable, secure Mobile State Trooper Post,” said Murphy. “Without their support, we still would be struggling to work under deplorable conditions at the old post.”

The new facility is an essential support for trooper services in south Alabama, including a new highway safety initiative, “Take Back Our Highways: 50/4,” Murphy said. He said “Take Back Our Highways: 50/4” is the next generation of “Take Back Our Highways,” the aggressive highway safety initiative DPS pioneered in 2007, that spurred a reduction of 61 rural highway deaths statewide last year.

Murphy said “Take Back Our Highways: 50/4” will focus 50-trooper saturation enforcement details in four targeted high-fatality areas. The first detail will target Baldwin and Mobile counties, which saw a total of 90 rural traffic deaths last year. “Take Back Our Highways: 50/4” then will target Chilton (with 24 rural fatalities), Cullman (with 39 rural fatalities), and Tuscaloosa (with 31 rural fatalities).

“We know that enforcement works,” said Murphy. “Our purpose is to save lives by preventing fatal crashes and instilling safer driving behavior.”

The new initiative features four-day periods of intensive, 24-hour patrols in targeted areas with aggressive DUI enforcement, including sobriety checkpoints. Troopers also will target seat belt and child restraint usage, and the range of violations that cause crashes and contribute to more severe injuries and fatalities. These include speeding, following too closely and failure to yield.

In addition to “Take Back Our Highways: 50/4,” Murphy said DPS will schedule at least one interval of the original TBOH program each year, involving all sworn personnel in a week of intensive enforcement activity statewide.

Murphy also noted Public Safety conducted its first regional recruiting and testing initiative in Baldwin and Mobile counties earlier this month. More than 380 individuals applied, and Public Safety is conducting background investigations on 192 prospective trooper applicants.

Murphy said the department plans to hire a class of new troopers to begin training in June, a significant number of whom will be assigned to the Mobile Post.

The new post provides 6,000 square feet of space and houses post communications, command and administrative offices, interview rooms, and a briefing room. A 2,100-square-foot addition will house communications engineering and fleet maintenance operations.

The facility provides a base of operations for the more than 50 Public Safety employees assigned to the Mobile Post, which includes Baldwin and Mobile counties.

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Public Information/Education
Alabama Department of Public Safety

11th Circuit lifts stay of execution for Alabama inmate

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- A federal appeals court has lifted a stay of execution for James Harvey Callahan, who is scheduled to be executed Thursday.

But it could be delayed again by the U.S. Supreme Court, which has not yet ruled on lethal injection.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear oral arguments in a Kentucky challenge to lethal injection, a case that has delayed executions nationwide.

The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday lifted the stay granted by U.S. District Judge Keith Watkins in Montgomery on Dec. 14.

Callahan was sentenced to death for the kidnapping, rape and murder of Jacksonville State University student Rebecca Suzanne Howell in 1982.

Man attempts to rob Food Outlet

By Nick Cenegy
Star Staff Writer

01-30-2008

A man who tried to rob Food Outlet on the 2100 block of Noble Street Monday was left holding an empty bag after the clerk hid behind the counter.

The khaki-clothed man approached the counter just before 4:30 p.m. and motioned to the female clerk that he had a weapon, reported Anniston police.

Investigators said he told her to fill a plastic grocery sack with money, but the clerk ducked below the counter instead.

According to police, the man stayed around for a few seconds but eventually got frustrated and left with nothing but the plastic sack.

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

Missing Kentucky girl found in Jacksonville

By Nick Cenegy
Star Staff Writer

01-30-2008

Jacksonville police, responding Saturday to a domestic disturbance call at The Grove apartments, found a 16-year-old girl who had been reported missing from Fort Campbell, Ky., since Dec. 19.

Jacksonville investigators said when police arrived they discovered Shanise Phillips involved in a dispute with the 18-year-old resident of the apartment. Phillips told police she had been held at the apartment against her will, said investigators.

According to police, Phillips had bite marks on her left bicep and abrasions around her neck.

Family members came to Anniston police early this month after they learned the girl might have traveled to Calhoun County.

Anniston police investigators said Phillips was back in Kentucky with her mother Tuesday.

The Star is withholding the name of the suspect because no warrants had been issued or arrests made in the case as of Tuesday.

State senator to sponsor death penalty legislation for 8th time

By Phillip Rawls
Associated Press

01-30-2008

MONTGOMERY — The third time wasn't the charm for state Sen. Hank Sanders.

Neither was the fourth, fifth, six or seventh time.

But Sanders isn't giving up.

The Selma Democrat announced Tuesday that when the Legislature convenes Feb. 5, he will again sponsor legislation to place a three-year moratorium on executions in Alabama.

Legislative records show Sanders has been introducing the moratorium bill annually since at least 2001, but it has never been approved by the Senate, much less the House.

Sanders was joined at a windy outdoor news conference Tuesday by supporters of his bill. Judy Cumbee, first vice president of the Alabama New South Coalition, said the wind was symbolic.

"These are winds of change," she said as she brushed her hair out of her face.

Cumbee, Sanders and others said there is growing concern in Alabama about the fairness of the death penalty, and that is causing more people to support a moratorium while officials look at how the law is administered.

Pilot dies in ultralight plane crash in Escambia Co.

ATMORE, Ala. (AP) -- A south Alabama pilot was killed when his ultralight aircraft crashed in rural Escambia County late Sunday afternoon.

Escambia County Sheriff Grover Smith said 21-year-old Chris Vanree of Poarch was in the ultralight when it crashed into a remote airfield while attempting to land.

Witnesses said the aircraft went down at about 5 p.m. near the McCullough community, located north of Poarch.

Smith said Vanree was airlifted to a Pensacola, Florida, hospital where he died.

The crash is under investigation.

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Information From: Press-Register

Fire kills 68-year-old Geneva County man

SAMSON, Ala. (AP) -- A 68-year-old Geneva County man is dead following a fire that destroyed his mobile home.

Geneva County Coroner Max Motley said James Catrett of Samson died in the blaze early Monday.

Authorities say they haven't determined the cause of the fire, which erupted just before 4 a.m. Motley said Catrett lived alone in the mobile home, located off Highway 52.

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Information From: The Dothan Eagle

Greenville police investigate possible murder suicide

GREENVILLE, Ala. (AP) -- Greenville police are investigating an apparent murder-suicide.

Police found two people shot to death inside a Commerce Street home around 10 a.m. yesterday.

Police identified the victims as 55-year-old Patricia Lowery and her son, 36-year-old Scott Coshatt.

Officials say evidence at the scene caused investigators to believe Coshatt killed his mother and then turned the gun on himself. Police did not immediately know what the motive was.

It was Greenville's first homicide of the year.

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.

April trial date set for man charged in officer's murder

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) -- A Madison County judge has set a trial date for a man accused of killing a Huntsville police officer more than two years ago.

Circuit Judge Karen Hall, in a ruling yesterday, said Benito Albarran will go to trial on April 14th in Anniston. Earlier this month she granted a motion to move the trial out of Huntsville because of pretrial publicity.

Albarran, who entered an insanity plea, is charged with capital murder in the death of Officer Daniel Golden. The officer, who was 27, was shot to death on August 29th, 2005 outside a restaurant on Jordan Lane.

Prosecutors said they plan to seek the death penalty, if Albarran is convicted.

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Information From: The Huntsville Times

Anniston man robbed by 3 men at Vann Thomas Motel

By Nick Cenegy
Star Staff Writer

01-29-2008

A 40-year-old Anniston man was robbed of cash and a cell phone after three men knocked on his door Saturday evening at the Vann Thomas Motel.

According to Anniston police reports, the man was in his room around 6:40 p.m. when he heard a knock at the door. Three men were waiting outside when he opened the door, police reported.

Investigators said the three men, whom the 40-year-old did not know, walked in and asked if he had seen a person they were looking for.

One of the men stuck his hand in his pocket and indicated that he had a gun before demanding the victim's cell phone and money, police said.

The three were last seen heading towards a maroon four-door Buick.

No injuries were reported and no arrests had been made in the case as of Monday afternoon.

Quick Cash on South Quintard robbed, shot fired, no injuries

By Nick Cenegy
Star Staff Writer

01-29-2008

Two ski-masked men in dark clothing took the Quick Cash on the 1100 block of South Quintard Avenue at their word Friday afternoon.

The two men entered the check-cashing business around 4 p.m., pointing handguns and demanding money from the 42-year-old female clerk, reported Anniston police.

Before the two fled one of the men fired a shot in the direction of the woman, police said.

The two thieves were seen leaving in what was believed to be a green four-door Ford Taurus or Contour in "rough condition," police.

No injuries were reported and no arrests had been made in the case as of Monday afternoon.

Funny video of police calls

This was an email forward so I don't know where it came from or if it is authentic or not. Still, it's worth a laugh. If it's true it makes you appreciate the side of policing where you have to deal with stupid callers.

Gun fired into house, attempted assault on Wilmer Avenue

By Nick Cenegy

Star Staff Writer

Gunshots disrupted a quiet evening of television for one Anniston family Thursday.

A 24-year-old man, his 1-year-old son, and his 20-year-old girlfriend were sitting in the living room of a house on the 2100 block of Wilmer Avenue around 9:45 p.m. when someone knocked at the door, Anniston police reported.

The man told investigators he heard someone yelling outside and then a number of bullets were shot through the door.

No one was injured. Investigators said there was no apparent indication of why someone would want to hurt the family. Crime-scene investigators recovered bullet fragments from the scene. No arrests in the case had been made as of Monday afternoon.

Crime briefs: Woman reports prowler who claimed to be police

By Nick Cenegy
Star Staff Writer

01-29-2008

An alleged burglar played police when he was confronted by a 32-year-old woman in Anniston on Sunday evening.

According to police reports, the woman was inside her house on the 600 block of East Sixth Street just before 7 p.m. when she heard a noise in the yard. She went to the window to take a look, then walked outside, said police.

The woman told investigators she saw a man standing behind a bush, but as he turned toward her he covered his face with his hands and yelled "Freeze, police!'"

The man chased the woman back into her house and tried to get inside by breaking parts of the front door, including a window in the door, said police. The woman called 911 but when police arrived, the man was gone.

Apparently his "disguise" worked. Investigators said the woman neither recognized the man nor was able to describe his age or race.

No injuries were reported and no arrests in the case had been made as of Monday afternoon.

Scrushy makes personal appeal to judges for release

By Bob Johnson
Associated Press

01-29-2008

MONTGOMERY — Former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy says he is willing to put up $10 million in property to show he would not be a risk to flee if released from prison while his conviction in a government corruption case is being appealed.

In an affidavit submitted to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Scrushy said he was willing to post his upscale homes in Birmingham and on Lake Martin as security to assure that he wouldn't try to leave the country while out of prison.

"Combined, these properties have a tax-appraised value of over $10 million, free and clear," Scrushy said. "I am fully aware of the fact that if this bond was ever revoked, it would leave my family and children without a home. I would never allow this to happen."

In his pleading filed Friday, Scrushy said he has nine children, including five that still live at home with his wife, Leslie, and that he would never consider putting them in jeopardy by leaving the country

Alabama Supreme Court offers hope to ill workers

Associated Press

01-29-2008

MONTGOMERY — In a 5-4 decision, the Alabama Supreme Court reversed direction and allowed lawsuits from workers who become ill many years after being exposed to dangerous chemicals.

The majority said the two-year statute of limitations for filing suit begins to run when an injury manifests itself. That overruled a 1979 decision, where the court said the window for filing suit began to run at the last exposure to the chemicals — a standard that made it impossible for workers to sue if the illness did not show up for many years.

"It takes courage to recognize the court has made a mistake in the past and to correct the mistake," said Birmingham attorney Bob Palmer, who has been pushing the court to make the change for four years.

Palmer said the 1979 ruling created a "Catch-22" for workers. Alabama law provided they couldn't sue until they had an injury, but the court had ruled the window for suing began at the last exposure. Lawsuits over illnesses that took years to develop were effectively barred, he said.

Sunday blaze destroy Florence business

FLORENCE, Ala. (AP) -- A large fire gutted a business in downtown Florence overnight.

Firefighters were called to the Southern Pipe and Supply building around 4:30 p.m. yesterday. Observers said plumes of thick smoke could be seen in neighboring cities. The blaze was contained last night.

A company manager said PVC pipes and glues stored in the building likely hampered efforts to fully put out the fire because the materials can generate higher temperatures than wood or paper.

No one was in the building and no injuries were reported.

Fire investigators are trying to determine how it started.

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Information From: Florence Times-Daily

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.

Memorial for slain children draws hundreds

Associated Press

01-27-2008

BAYOU LA BATRE — A memorial service Saturday drew some 700 people mourning the four children allegedly thrown from the Dauphin Island bridge by their father.

The bodies of Ryan Phan, 3; Hannah Luong, 2; Lindsey Luong, 1; and Danny Luong, 4 months, all of Irvington, were recovered from coastal waters off Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.

A memorial at Bayou La Batre Community Center drew flowers, letters and other condolences from as far away as California. The children's family invited those who conducted the two-week search for them to a dinner Saturday evening.

The family's church and volunteers conducted the memorial. A family spokesman said the outpouring of support has helped them get through the tragedy and Saturday's memorial gave them a chance to say thanks.

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. Arrested the next day, Luong later recanted that confession.

Luong, a native of Vietnam, has been charged with four counts of capital murder. His Mobile County trial date has not been set.

3 killed in crash near Loxley Friday night

Associated Press

01-27-2008

LOXLEY — Three people were killed in a collision between a tractor-trailer truck and a car on Alabama 59, just south of Loxley, state troopers said.

Charles H. Miller Jr., 64, of Benton, Me., was driving a 2005 Ford Taurus and apparently pulled onto the highway into the path of a southbound 2007 Freightliner tractor-trailer about 7 p.m. Friday.

The truck struck the Taurus on the driver side.

Miller, his 61-year-old wife, Emelda F. Miller, and another passenger, Mona J. Carter, 39, of Loxley, all died in the crash, troopers said.

The Millers had on seatbelts in the front seat. Carter was in the back seat and was not wearing a seat belt, troopers said.

The truck driver was slightly injured and treated at South Baldwin Hospital.

The accident remained under investigation Saturday.

5 men killed in high-speed crash at community runway

By Ron Word
Associated Press

01-27-2008

OCALA, Fla. — Five young men are dead after a car they were riding in crashed after traveling off an airport runway at the exclusive "fly-in" community of Jumbolair Aviation Estates early Saturday, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

The crash at the community, which is also the home of actor John Travolta, happened at about 3:45 a.m. According to a preliminary Florida Highway Patrol investigation, a 2008 gray BMW with 5 occupants, ages 18 to 20, was traveling at a high speed on the airstrip.

As it neared the end of the runway, the car skidded and traveled off the end of an 85-foot high embankment, became airborne for 200 feet and struck a large tree.

At impact, the vehicle split in half and the car's engine separated from the vehicle, scattering pieces of the car over about a 200 square foot area. Three of the five occupants were ejected from the vehicle and all were pronounced dead at the scene, according to Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Mike Burroughs said.

Press release: U.S. MARSHALS HAVE GREAT SUCCESS CAPTURING FUGITIVES ON FOREIGN SOIL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
January 27, 2008 Chief James Schield
Investigative Services Division, International Investigations Branch

or

USMS Headquarters Public Affairs (202) 307-9065

FUGITIVES RUNNING TO MEXICO – THE GIG IS UP

U.S. MARSHALS HAVE GREAT SUCCESS CAPTURING FUGITIVES ON FOREIGN SOIL

Washington, D.C. – January has been a very successful month for the U.S. Marshals and a nightmare come true for two fugitives on the run. In a mere 11 days, the U.S. Marshals captured two of their “15 Most Wanted” fugitives. While this is an amazing feat in and of itself, what makes it even more impressive is they traveled over international borders into Mexico to get the wanted criminals.

The U.S. Marshals want to put every fugitive on notice – you can run, but you can’t hide. If you find yourself on the Marshals most wanted list, they will hunt you down and bring you back to face justice. David Sauceda, captured Saturday and Craig Petties, captured Jan. 15, can both attest to the fact that just because you cross the border doesn’t mean you have eluded the reach of the U.S. Marshals.

Thanks to the U.S. Marshals’ extensive training, patience and solid relationships with Mexican law enforcement agencies, fugitives who run for the border are living on borrowed time. Some fugitives may think running to Mexico is equivalent to a “get out of jail free card,” but they learn otherwise when they find the Marshals are there waiting, watching and prepared to bring them back face their crimes.

The Marshals have a foreign field office in Mexico with the sole mission of hunting U.S. fugitives who choose to find safe haven in Mexico and Mexican fugitives who try to hide in the United States. The U.S. Marshals Mexico Field Office along with U.S. Marshals Mexico Investigative Liaison Program on the United States/Mexico Southwest border has proven to be a great success in capturing fugitives. In Fiscal Year 2007, the U.S. Marshals accomplished the following:

· 108 fugitives returned to the United States from Mexico
o 48 U.S. fugitives returned from Mexico to the United States via formal extradition
o 60 U.S. fugitives deported from Mexico to the United States
· 86 fugitives were returned to Mexico from the United States
o 15 Mexican fugitives returned from the United States to Mexico via formal extradition
o 71 Mexican fugitives deported from the United States to Mexico
· More than 70 U.S. fugitives in custody awaiting formal extradition from Mexico to the United States

In Fiscal Year 2008 (October through December), the U.S. Marshals accomplished the following:

· 44 U.S. fugitives deported from Mexico to the United States
· 12 U.S. fugitives returned from Mexico to the United States via formal extradition
· 8 Mexican fugitives deported from the United States to Mexico
· 2 Mexican fugitives returned from the United States to Mexico via formal extradition

Fugitive captures are performed under the authority of the U.S Constitution and Mexican Constitution and both countries’ laws.

U.S. Marshals are the nation’s primary fugitive hunting organization. For more information, go to www.usmarshals.gov.

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U.S. Marshals

Office of Public Affairs