Pair of men rob Rally's on South Quintard Ave.

By Nick Cenegy
Staff Writer

04-18-2008

Two armed men wearing masks robbed the Rally's at 400 South Quintard Ave. on Wednesday night.

Around 10:15 p.m. one man, wearing a dark hat, his face covered by a blue bandana, approached the front of the restaurant with a handgun and crawled through a window, Anniston police reported.

Once inside, the man forced employees to open the back door, where a man wearing a ski mask was waiting with a shotgun, investigators said.

The two took an undisclosed sum of money and fled on foot, according to police reports.

No injuries were reported related to the incident. Police had made no arrests in connection with the case as of Thursday afternoon.

Man charged in stabbing near Auburn campus

Associated Press

04-18-2008

AUBURN — A 20-year-old Birmingham man has been charged with second-degree assault in connection with a stabbing near Auburn University.

Police said Johnathon Sepp Etterer turned himself in around 1 a.m. Thursday. He is accused of stabbing 20-year-old Richard K. Straus just before noon Wednesday.

He was taken to the Lee County Detention Center.

Police said Straus underwent surgery at East Alabama Medical, where his condition was upgraded from critical to fair.

The stabbing at the Edge Apartments near Auburn's campus prompted the university to send out a campus-wide alert to students and faculty on Wednesday afternoon.

Police said it appears the stabbing happened during a dispute between roommates.

Birmingham man charged in 1987 beating death

Associated Press

04-18-2008

BIRMINGHAM — Police have made an arrest in a 1987 beating death of a 78-year-old Birmingham man.

Police Chief A.C. Roper said a 37-year-old Birmingham man has been charged with capital murder in the slaying of Emmett Ray Owens. A witness was located by cold-case detective Jody Jacobs.

Police won't release the suspect's name because he was 16 when the crime happened and has been charged as a juvenile.

Martha Smith says she had given up hope that anyone would be arrested for her father's murder. She says it's painful to think about it.

Owens was found in a ditch in Bessemer on July 20, 1987.

Anniston man recovering from surgery after shooting

By Nick Cenegy
Staff Writer

04-18-2008

Police said the man who allegedly shot a 29-year-old woman to death during a domestic dispute Wednesday afternoon and later turned the gun on himself, was recovering from surgery Thursday afternoon at a Birmingham hospital.

Richard Tidwell, 41, of the 300 block of North Marshall Street, and Tanya Grizzard, 29, of Anniston were having an argument over their 2-month-old child outside of Tidwell's residence, when Tidwell allegedly shot Grizzard in the head at least three times with a small-caliber handgun, Anniston police reported.

Later, Tidwell shot himself once in the head, but he did not die from the wound, investigators said.

Police were called to the scene around 5:30 p.m. Grizzard was pronounced dead on the scene shortly after, said Calhoun County Coroner Pat Brown.

Tidwell was transported to a hospital in Birmingham, where he underwent surgery for the better part of Thursday, police said.

The two were initially reported as having been married, but investigators said that was not true.

Court records show that Grizzard filed a protective order from abuse in Calhoun County courts against Tidwell in July 2006. That order expired in July 2007.

Tidwell will be charged with murder if he recovers, investigators said.

Former Cleburne County deputy honored

By Markeshia Ricks
Capitol Correspondent

04-18-2008

MONTGOMERY — A retired member of the Cleburne County Sheriff's Office was honored at the State House on Thursday for risking his life in the line of duty.

Nearly five years ago, Deputy Sheriff Gary Howell was making a routine traffic stop of a man driving under the influence.

When Howell and another deputy attempted to get the man out of his vehicle, the man pulled a gun and shot Howell in the upper torso and face.

Howell had to have 18 surgeries to reconstruct his face, and he still has a bullet lodged in his side.

"The doctors told me I would never walk again," he said. "But I had a lot of determination and I knew that I wasn't going to let that hold me down."

Howell had to take a medical retirement because of his injuries. The man who shot him is serving a life sentence.

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AG requests execution dates for 3 death row inmates

Associated Press

Updated 12:15 p.m.

MONTGOMERY — Attorney General Troy King requested execution dates Friday for three Alabama death row inmates, a move that followed a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that cleared the way for use of lethal injection.

King said he has asked the Alabama Supreme Court to set execution dates for death row inmates Jimmy Dill, convicted in Jefferson County, Phillip Hallford of Dale County and Willie McNair of Henry County.

King said the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in a Kentucky case Wednesday removes any question as to the constitutionality of Alabama's lethal injection protocol.

In a statement, King said his office is "committed to moving swiftly to deliver justice for the victims who suffered at the hands of these wicked criminals."

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Fort Bragg soldier (From Anniston) shot, robbed

I believe this man is from Anniston and still has family here.

-Nick

FAYETTEVILLE (WTVD) -- A manhunt is underway for the people who shot and robbed a Fort Bragg soldier.

Specialist Sergio Sanchez was shot in the neck behind a Fayetteville nightclub.

Military leaders believe Sanchez and three of his friends went to Sharky's Cabaret Friday night to have a good time. Sanchez was the designated driver.

Here's more.

1 dead in Anniston shooting

By Nick Cenegy
Staff Writer

04-17-2008

A 30-year-old woman was shot to death and a man was in critical condition Wednesday night after an apparent murder and attempted suicide in Anniston.

Tanya Grizzard, 30, of Anniston, was shot multiple times in the head during a domestic dispute at her ex-husband's residence on the 300 block of North Marshall Street in west Anniston, said Calhoun County Coroner Pat Brown.

Grizzard's ex-husband, Richard Tidwell, allegedly shot her with a small caliber handgun before turning it on himself, said Brown.

Authorities responded to an emergency call from a concerned friend around 5:30 p.m. Grizzard was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after, Brown said.

As of 9:30 p.m., Tidwell was in critical condition at a Birmingham hospital being treated for a gunshot wound to the head, said Brown.

Anniston police are investigating the cause of the dispute.

Second man arrested in restaurant robbery

By Nick Cenegy
Staff Writer

04-17-2008

A second man was taken into custody this week in connection with the April 7 robbery of Sonic on Greenbrier-Dear Road.

Anniston police charged Phabyn Ramon Gay, 24, on Tuesday with first-degree robbery for his alleged participation in the incident.

Police arrested another man, Ramone Marquez Byers, 20, over the weekend and charged him with first-degree robbery with a weapon.

According to Alabama law, anyone who plays a part in a robbery can be prosecuted to the same extent as those who actually take the money.

Anniston police reports indicated that a man entered the restaurant on the 1500 block of Greenbrier-Dear Road shortly after 11 p.m. April 7 carrying a silver semi-automatic handgun and demanded money.

Employees handed over an undisclosed amount of cash and the man left the area on foot, said investigators.

There were no injuries reported in the incident.

Gay was in Calhoun County Jail Monday on $10,000 bond. A preliminary court date has been set for June 20 at 8 a.m.

Man alleges he was bilked out of money

By Nick Cenegy
Staff Writer

04-17-2008

An 86-year-old Anniston resident told police he was bilked out of $19,090 after a contractor inflated the amount on his checks.

The resident of the 2200 block of Briarcliffe Road said he hired a man to do minor repair work around his house, reported Anniston police.

Between March 25 and April 1, the resident paid the man by way of four checks, each averaging $50 to $100, said police.

According to investigators the man altered the amounts of the checks up so that they totaled $19,090.

Investigators said they have identified a suspect in the case but he was not in custody Wednesday afternoon.

Anniston man stabbed on Glen Addie Avenue

By Nick Cenegy
Staff Writer

04-16-2008

A 30-year-old Anniston man was stabbed around lunchtime Monday near the 800 block of Glen Addie Avenue while he was walking down the street.

According to Anniston police reports, the man had just crossed the railroad tracks around 12:30 p.m. when another man, whom he did not know, ran up behind him and stabbed him with a knife.

The 30-year-old suffered a stab wound in the shoulder and then ran away from his attacker, said investigators.

Police said he was treated at Stringfellow Hospital for injuries believed to be non-life-threatening.

The man told police he didn't know why he was stabbed, and had not had any contact with the man prior to the incident.

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

Hurst proposes bill that could prohibit people under 18, convicted felons from possessing stun guns

By Markeshia Ricks
Capitol Correspondent

04-17-2008

Rep. Steve Hurst, D-Munford, is sponsoring a bill that would prohibit people under age 18 and convicted felons from possessing a stun gun like the one above. Photo: Nick Cenegy/The Anniston Star

MONTGOMERY — People under 18 and convicted felons might one day get a shock if they are caught with a stun gun.

A bill that would prohibit them from possessing such a conductive energy device cleared Alabama's House Judiciary Committee Wednesday, and is on its way to being considered by the full House this session.

If the bill becomes law, a violation would be a Class C misdemeanor, and using it against a law enforcement officer a Class B felony.

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State officials say it will take time before executions are rescheduled, carried out

By Markeshia Ricks
Capitol Correspondent

04-17-2008

MONTGOMERY — The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the use of lethal injection in a 7 to 2 decision Wednesday.

AP Interactive

Capital punishment by state

The majority of the Supreme Court agreed that the three-drug cocktail used in Kentucky's lethal injection is not "cruel and unusual" as defined in the Eighth Amendment, clearing the way for executions to resume.

But state officials say it could take some time before executions are rescheduled and carried out.

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U.S. Supreme Court upholds lethal injection

By Robert Barnes
The Washington Post

04-17-2008

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court Wednesday ruled that the most common method of lethal injection used to execute condemned prisoners is constitutional, a decision sure to restart the nation's dormant death chambers. But the court's splintered reasoning also seems to make likely more challenges to the way capital punishment is administered in the United States.

AP Interactive

Capital punishment by state

The justices voted 7 to 2 that the three-drug combination used by Kentucky, similar to that used by the federal government and 34 other states, does not carry a risk of substantial pain so great as to violate the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

"Simply because an execution method may result in pain, either by accident or as an inescapable consequence of death, does not establish the sort of objectively intolerable risk of harm that qualifies as cruel and unusual," Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote.

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A common thread: Community leaders to head 'Stop the Violence' committees

By Nick Cenegy
Staff Writer

04-17-2008

They are leaders by choice, by profession, and now out of necessity. With the murder count now in double digits, nine area residents are heading-up sub-committees charged with collecting information on specific aspects of the community and bringing it back to the Stop the Violence meeting on April 28 to add their puzzle piece to the growing picture of the demons that prompt violence in Anniston.

So far this year there have been 10 homicides in the Anniston area. The 10th came Wednesday night.

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Etowah jail inmate dies in apparent suicide

GADSDEN, Ala. (AP) -- An Etowah County jail inmate has died after he apparently hanged himself in his cell.

Etowah County Chief Corrections Officer Scott Hassell said 36-year-old Teddy Gene Hagan of Gadsden died Monday after he was found hanging in his cell Sunday night.

Hagan was in jail for violating a protection order, and a hold was placed on him from Marshall County. Jailers said he was in the common area of his unit with other inmates when he asked to go back to his cell.

Hassell said that while making rounds a short time later, he found Hagan with a bedsheet around his neck. The inmate was transported to a hospital where he died.

Hassell said the Alabama Bureau of Investigation was called in to investigate and an autopsy will be done.

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Information from: The Gadsden Times, http://www.gadsdentimes.com

Stop the violence: Officials, residents pack meeting

By Nick Cenegy
Staff Writer

04-15-2008

The seeds of anti-violence action planted at last week's "Stop the Violence" roundtable discussion began to take root Monday as city leaders again met at Anniston Funeral Services.

"The purpose of this meeting is to make sure our community doesn't take last week's meeting as a Band-Aid on the problem," said the Rev. Frederick Durant, Anniston Funeral Services outreach ministry coordinator.

Monday's meeting was slated to be a brain-storming session for a committee selected by Durant to pull ideas from some of the issues raised during last week's open meeting.

It soon was apparent to Durant and the meeting's host, the Rev. Jeffrey Williams, owner of Anniston Funeral Services, that the conference room reserved for the session wasn't large enough to accommodate the community leaders and concerned residents who continued to file in.

After relocating to the funeral home's chapel, the group of about 40 people carried on a two-hour discussion, addressing a variety of issues that they believe contribute to discord and violence among Anniston youth and adults.

Pastor Lany Holcombe, of Faith Based International Ministries, issued a challenge for 100 local pastors to pledge $1,000 from their congregations to provide "Stop the Violence" with funds to effect change.

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Anniston man arrested in April 6 Sonic robbery

By Nick Cenegy
Staff Writer

04-15-2008

A 20-year-old Anniston man was arrested early Saturday morning in connection with the April 6 robbery of Sonic on Greenbrier-Dear Road.

Anniston Police allege Ramone Marquez Byers, 20, entered the restaurant at 1529 Greenbrier-Dear Road shortly after 11 p.m. carrying a silver semi-automatic handgun, and demanded money.

Employees handed over an undisclosed amount of cash and Byers left the area on foot, investigators said.

No injuries were reported in the incident.

Byers was charged with first-degree robbery with a weapon. He was in Calhoun County Jail Monday with bail set at $60,000. A preliminary court date has been set for July 18 at 8 a.m.

Store employee throws hammer at would-be robber

By Nick Cenegy
Staff Writer

04-15-2008

A man wearing a ski mask tried to rob HR's Grocery on Clydesdale Avenue Saturday but was thwarted when an employee threw a hammer at him.

The masked man walked into the store at 933 Clydesdale Avenue, around 9:20 p.m. and pointed a silver handgun at a clerk behind the counter, reported Anniston police.

Store owner Harry Malone, who was out of town during the incident, said the would-be robber glanced at the door just long enough for the clerk to pick up a hammer from the counter and hurl it at him.

The hammer missed, but it was enough to coax the armed man to leave the store empty-handed, Malone said.

No injuries were reported in the incident. No arrests were reported in the case as of Monday afternoon.

Man shot in leg as he walked on Moore Avenue

By Nick Cenegy
Staff Writer

04-15-2008

A 20-year-old Anniston man was shot Saturday as he walked near the 2000 block of Moore Avenue in Anniston.

The man was walking on the street around 2 a.m. when he heard what he believed were gunshots, according to Anniston police.

He felt a pain in his leg and realized he had been shot, said investigators.

He told police he didn't see any cars or people in the area.

He was treated at Regional Medical Center for non-life-threatening injuries.

No arrests were reported in connection with the incident as of Monday afternoon.

Would-be Scottsboro robber gets shot in stomach, hospitalized

SCOTTSBORO, Ala. (AP) -- A would-be thief was shot in the stomach as he tried to rob a man over the weekend and is recovering in Tennessee, where he fled after the incident in Scottsboro, police said Monday.

Scottsboro Police Chief Ralph Dawe said the suspect, whose name has not been released, tried to rob a man near Highlands Medical Center around 2 a.m. Saturday.

He said the robbery target pulled a gun and shot the suspect in the abdomen. The suspect then fled to Chattanooga, Tenn., where he is being treated at Erlanger Hospital.

Dave said there were outstanding arrest warrants for the man on first-degree robbery charges for a similar incident at a local Wal-Mart and he will be extradited back to Alabama when his medical condition improves.

He said the information compiled so far provides no reason to charge the person who shot the robbery suspect.

Dave said Tennessee authorities contacted their Alabama counterparts after the man gave differnt versions of how he ended up with the gunshot wound.

"He gave several stories, but all accounts of what happened involved Scottsboro, so they called us," Dawe said.

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Information from: WAFF-TV, http://www.waff.com/

Woman being robbed drives car into store pillar

By Nick Cenegy
Staff Writer

04-15-2008

A 23-year-old Georgia woman who was reportedly being robbed Friday night drove her car into a pillar at Fred's Discount Store, 1544 Greenbrier Dear Road.

The woman recognized one of two men who were in a parking lot across the street from the discount store, reported Anniston police.

She pulled into the parking lot, and the men got in to her Honda Accord, said investigators.

Inside the vehicle, one of the men reportedly pulled out a handgun, pointed it at the woman, and demanded money, police said.

According to investigators, the woman began to drive erratically and ran into a metal pillar in front of Fred's Discount Store.

The men fled in a red Dodge Durango with tinted windows, said police.

No injuries were reported. Police reported no arrests in the case as of Monday afternoon.

Committee to discuss solutions for city's crime

By Nick Cenegy
Staff Writer

04-13-2008

Thursday night's "Stop the Violence" roundtable yielded a committee of 10 people intent upon developing solutions for the city's crime, according to the Rev. Frederick Durant, outreach coordinator for Anniston Funeral Services, which hosted the event.

Star Audio

Click the play button to listen to the Rev. Frederick Durant, host of the April 10 Stop the Violence roundtable discussion, speak about Anniston's need for crime solutions, or download the MP3 to your computer (6 MB).

The funeral home hosted the roundtable in response to the number of murders in the area since the first of the year. The first three months of 2008 have seen eight murders in Anniston, compared with nine in all of 2007.

The committee will meet at the funeral home at 6 p.m. Monday, with the goal of compiling a list of recommendations for the mayor and city council to review.

The group so far consists of Durant, Debra Foster, Pam Key, Calhoun County Sheriff Larry Amerson, the Rev. Randy B. Kelley, the Rev. Torail Jackson, Anniston Mayor Chip Howell, Anniston Police Chief John Dryden, and representatives from the Calhoun County District Attorney's office, Durant said.

Thursday night's roundtable discussion was a good start, Durant said, but the ideas and relationships need to be cultivated.

"I think it was very successful, but I was a little disappointed that there weren't more pastors from the area there," he said.

"Everything starts small and grows big. I think a great seed was planted."

Fryer catches fire at Jacksonville McDonald's

By Nick Cenegy
Staff Writer

04-13-2008

A malfunction of a deep fat fryer at the McDonalds restaurant on Pelham Road in Jacksonville sent one employee to the hospital around lunchtime Saturday.

Jacksonville firefighters were called to the fire Saturday around 12:54 p.m., said Lt. Keith Kadle.

Employees had the restaurant evacuated by the time firefighters arrived, said Kadle.

He said it took about 15 minutes to extinguish the fire.

One employee was injured, but Kadle said he was not sure of the extent. The employee was transported to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, he said.

Jefferson County civil rights suit claims Hispanics harassed by police

Associated Press

04-14-2008

BRIGHTON — A civil rights suit against Brighton Police Chief Anthony Farley and the city contends Farley got angry over a prank, then had several vehicles belonging to some Hispanic men illegally towed and held for months.

The incident took place Nov. 3 at the Holiday Mobile Home Park in Brighton, near Birmingham.

Farley, who was a Brighton police sergeant at the time, had stopped to talk to a group of men gathered outside, according to the suit filed March 5 in Jefferson County by Alvis Garcia of Pelham.

The suit contends Farley got mad when someone from the group got into the officer's patrol car as a prank. Farley fired his gun in the air and radioed for backup officers and tow trucks, the suit said.

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Friends of slain Auburn student sell wristbands in her honor

Associated Press

04-14-2008

MARIETTA, Ga. — Friends of a slain Auburn University freshman are selling lime green wristbands in her honor to raise money for charity, including a scholarship in her name.

University of Georgia junior David Awadalla, who attended Walton High School with Lauren Burk, started selling the bracelets soon after her death. The bracelets sell for $3 and organizers have raised more than $500 so far.

Due to the response, organizers have ordered more than 7,000 wristbands. Sales will be donated to Invisible Children and the Lauren A. Burk Memorial Scholarship at Auburn University and Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, where her parents met as students.

The 18-year-old Burk was found suffering from a gunshot wound on a roadway about five miles from campus shortly after 9 p.m. on the night of March 4 and her car was found about 20 minutes later burning in a campus parking lot. She died that night.

Friends say that lime green was Burk's favorite color. The wristbands are also being sold through the social networking site Facebook and a memorial Web site.

Siegelman turns tables on Justice Department

By Carrie Johnson
The Washington Post

04-14-2008

WASHINGTON — The successful criminal prosecution of former Democratic Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman has become tangled in political charges and countercharges that reflect contrasting views about the independence of the Justice Department.

In the two weeks since his release from prison pending an appeal, Siegelman has sharply increased the volume of his assertions that he was railroaded. He says that Karl Rove, who was a White House adviser, targeted him for prosecution to ensure he did not win re-election to the governor's office and displace a Republican there.

Siegelman is seizing on a theme that is newly popular with politically connected defendants: turning the tables on a Justice Department vulnerable to accusations of interference because of missteps last year under then-Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales.

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Editorial: Crime tax makes sense

In our opinion

04-13-2008

In its 2008 budget, Anniston's police department is down eight jobs. It's not a new problem. For several years the department has struggled to keep full employment. Equally difficult is the task of retaining qualified officers lest they head to more lucrative pastures.

None of this should be taken as an indictment of Anniston's budget writers. The police department received about one-sixth of the city's $31 million budget in 2008. Other deserving programs can and do rightly claim a slice of Anniston's pie.

What's needed — and soon — is a bigger pie.

It's time for a crime tax in Anniston, a short-term levy in order to tackle crime at various pressure points.

Let us provide an outline.

1. We propose that the voters be given an opportunity to vote on a tax designed to bolster law enforcement and reduce crime.

2. If the voters agreed, the revenue would be raised by adding a half-cent to the city's sales tax. The tax would sunset after five years unless a majority of city voters agreed to renew it.

3. Under current projections that half-cent would generate $2.2 million annually.

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