Civilian Gun Self-Defense Blog

Would-be Scottsboro robber gets shot in stomach, hospitalized

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.

Labels: AL, street robbery

Man Shoots, Kills Cousin Stealing Gas

Authorities in Russell County have not filed charges against a homeowner who said today he shot and killed a man who was siphoning gasoline from his truck in the middle of the night, only to discover the victim was a cousin.

Robert Lee Warren of Hatchechubee said the man identified by the coroner as 40-year-old Henry Moses made a threatening move toward him after being confronted, so he pulled the trigger in self-defense.

Coroner Arthur Sumbry Jr. said Moses died of a single gunshot to the chest about 2 a.m. CDT on Easter Sunday. The body was found near a blue pickup truck under an awning that Warren used as a carport. He said its unclear how much, if any, gasoline was taken.

Prosecutor Buster Landreau said it was too early to say whether an indictment could result when a grand jury considers the case.

Alabama law allows residents to use deadly force if they feel their life is in danger.

With the average price for regular, self-serve gasoline hitting $3.26 a gallon in the United States, gasoline thefts are being reported across the country.

Labels: AL, street property theft

Homeowner Kills Suspect In Home Invasion

Authorities say a homeowner who apparently was targeted in a home invasion Sunday night exchanged gunfire with a suspect who was killed.

Randy Christian, a Jefferson County sheriff's spokesman, said the shooting death of 23-year-old Eric Moore of Birmingham appeared to be justified. Moore died a short time later at a Birmingham hospital.

Christian said the investigation determined Moore was the masked gunman who kicked in the door of a residence in Forestdale and fired shots at the occupant. The homeowner was not hit.

Christian said the homeowner broke up a fight Saturday night at the Platinum Club in Birmingham that Moore had been involved in. He said Moore had inquired about the homeowner's address before the home was invaded.

Labels: AL, home invasion

Bullets don't deter suspect

Shots to buttocks fail to stop two more break-ins

A six-foot fence, three dogs, 385 pounds worth of teenage boys and three gunshot wounds to the buttocks didn't stop one alleged burglar from bursting into two other homes before police detained him Thursday night.

Huntsville police were still trying to verify the suspect's identity Friday but believe he is 36-year-old Marvin Horton, police spokesman Wendell Johnson said.

Horton allegedly jumped a 6-foot chain-link fence at 2702 Ninth Ave. and dodged Brenda Glover's pit bull puppy, Rottweiler and German shepherd before forcing open her front door at about 11:15 p.m.

Glover said she went to bed early, but her two sons, 17-year-old David and 18-year-old Jerry, were up playing video games and heard the dogs bark seconds before the burglar crashed into their home.

Glover woke up and heard the man fighting with her sons, who managed to wrestle the man into a headlock. She grabbed an umbrella before entering the scuffle.

"I told him to leave, and he said, 'No I'm coming in the house,'" she said. "He still kept coming, and I told him, 'I'm going to go get my gun if you don't leave.'"

The three tried to push the man back out the front door, but he wouldn't budge, Glover said.

When the burglar didn't heed her warning, Glover retrieved her .38-caliber pistol and gave him a final chance to leave before firing a shot into his backside.

The first shot didn't register with the man, so Glover fired two more shots before he finally turned and ran back out the door. Glover's husband called police.

...

Johnson said it's unlikely any charges will be filed against any of the homeowners who struggled with Horton, including Glover.

"Usually, if there's any question regarding self defense, our investigators present it to the district attorney's office and consult with them," he said. "I don't think that will happen, though."

...

The incident wrapped up a difficult day for Glover, whose grandmother died Wednesday. But Glover said it's just another day on Ninth Avenue, where she often has had to ask homeless people to move out of her driveway when she comes home.

Glover said she bought the gun for protection, although she's never used it. Her car stereo has been stolen, and a thief snatched her husband's boots from the front porch, but she's never come face-to-face with someone determined to get in.

"I got the gun for protection when my kids were little," she said. "I always thought I would have to use it out and about, not in my own house. I never expected that."

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Labels: AL, home invasion

Albertville homeowner shoots backyard prowler

A homeowner on Valley View Drive who found two men in his backyard early today shot one of them with a shotgun, according to Albertville police.

The resident woke up before 1:30 a.m. because of a noise in the backyard and saw two people with flashlights, said police Sgt. Jamie Smith.

The homeowner got a shotgun, confronted the pair from inside the house, Smith said, and fired.

Officers found a man in the backyard with a gunshot wound to his upper torso, but he was conscious and talking before he was flown to Huntsville Hospital, Smith said.

The shooting is still under investigation, said Smith, and it appears that no charges will be filed against the homeowner. Police are still looking for the other prowler.

Labels: AL, trespassing

Burglary suspect shot as he flees

A 19-year-old man was shot in the back Sunday evening after he was caught rifling through an older model Chevrolet Caprice sitting in a Mobile auto body shop lot, police said.

The wounded man apparently didn't find much in the car, and as he fled he lost his tennis shoes, said the business owner who shot the man. The teen was taken to the hospital, but another man with him escaped, police said.

It was the second incident over the weekend in which a man was shot while believed to be committing a crime.

On Saturday, one of two men allegedly forcing their way into a Midtown home was shot and killed by either his own gun or his partner's gun as a resident struggled to keep them out of the house, police said.

Unlike the home invader, the 19-year-old man suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police spokesman Officer Eric Gallichant said.

Isaac Taylor said he was inside his business --

Taylor Made Auto Shop on Halls Mill Road -- about 6:30 p.m. when he heard something outside.

Taylor, 44, said he opened the door and surveyed a dark parking lot full of vehicles he had been hired to fix.

He said he spotted a man sitting in the Caprice. There was another man moving around inside a black four-door Honda Civic, Taylor said Monday.

Taylor said he fired his .38-caliber pistol as the two men fled. He said he then caught and tackled the 19-year-old in the driveway that the auto shop shares with Aramark Uniform Services.

"He told me his stomach was burning," Taylor said. "The way he had been running, I didn't think he had been shot."

Taylor said he called 911 when he realized that the man was wounded.

Police declined to release the 19-year-old's name Monday. The man will be arrested and charged once he is released from the hospital, Gallichant said.

Police will identify the man once investigators sign warrants against him, Gallichant said.

Taylor said he had seen the man he shot using his driveway as a short cut between Halls Mill and Navco roads. He said he didn't get a good look at the second man.

Usually no one is at the shop on Sundays, but Taylor said he was there trying to finish painting a Nissan Ultima.

"I guess they thought no one was out here," he said.

Taylor said he thought the men had rifled through several unlocked vehicles, but he didn't know if anything was taken.

He is asking his customers whether anything is missing when they come to pick up their vehicles.

Taylor said he carries a gun because of previous robberies and burglaries.

"I'm working hard every day," Taylor said Monday evening as he pulled tape off the door of the newly painted red Ultima.

In addition to the 19-year-old's tennis shoes, one of Taylor's employees found jumper cables lying in the parking lot Monday, he said.

"I hate to say this, but I kind of feel sorry for him," Taylor said.

Labels: AL, business robbery, street property theft

Intruder killed as he sought ex-girlfriend

Authorities said a 38-year-old Henry County man was shot and killed over the weekend after he broke into a mobile home near Kinsey, where his ex-girlfriend was staying with another man.

Dead is Jimmy Proctor of Headland, who suffered multiple gunshot wounds after he broke into the house located in a mobile home park on Lookout Lane off Alabama 52. The shooting occurred around 11:40 p.m. Saturday.

“There had been an ongoing domestic dispute with a female living at the residence where the shooting occurred and the deceased,” said Houston County Sheriff Andy Hughes. “The Sheriff’s Office has answered several domestic calls at that residence before.”

Hughes said Proctor came to the trailer, parked his vehicle at the rear of the house and forcefully entered through a rear door.

“When he got in, he made some verbal threats toward the man who shot him. The man pulled a firearm and told the guy to back off. He cocked the gun and attempted to retreat to the master bedroom/bathroom area.”

Hughes said the shooter repeatedly asked Proctor to stop. “But the suspect continued to come at him. He shot him once in the leg. The suspect kept coming and he shot him several more times with a 9 mm handgun.”

Capt. Antonio Gonzalez said authorities were called to the scene at 11:52 p.m. Proctor was shot once in the leg, twice in the torso and once in the face.

Gonzalez said it does not appear that Proctor was armed.

Proctor was transported by ambulance to Southeast Alabama Medical Center. He died about an hour later, at 12:43 a.m. Sunday, said Houston County Coroner Robert Byrd.

The shooter is not being identified by Houston County authorities. Gonzalez said he has not been charged with any crime at this point.

“We don’t know if he was the renter of the trailer house or the girl was, but someone was protecting their property,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said five or six people were in the mobile home at the time of the shooting, including several children.

It is the second time in three months a suspect has been shot and killed while breaking into a home in rural Houston County. Colie Laquad Dunlap, 20, was killed by a homeowner during a breaking-and-entering on U.S. 84 East on Dec. 8, 2007. Dunlap’s brother, Christopher Lee Dunlap, 24, was charged with burglary in the case.

The homeowner was not charged but Hughes said it would most likely be turned over to a grand jury for review.

Labels: AL, domestic dispute, home invasion

Witnesses say three men kicked down the door to a Montgomery man's home and only two made it out without being shot.

Montgomery police responded to the shooting in the 2700 block of Cherry Street around 6:30 Monday evening and found 22-year-old Tavaris Trammer lying on the floor with gunshot wounds to the neck and leg.

The resident was also shot in the arm.

According to MPD spokesman Captain Huey Thornton witnesses reported that three men kicked in the door, attempted to rob the resident and then shot him in the arm.

The resident then used a 9mm handgun and shot Mr. Trammer in the neck and leg.

The other two suspects fled the scene, one ran out the front door and the other jumped out a window.

Trammer was taken to Jackson Hospital where he is in serious but stable condition. Doctors say he may be paralyzed from the neck down.

The resident was also treated for his wounds.

Meanwhile, a Robbery 1st Degree warrant has been issued against Trammer.

Labels: AL, defender shot, home invasion

Labels: AL, altercation, residence burglary

Murder charge dropped in case of self defense

Prosecutors have dropped a murder charge against Frederick Espy II because of a lack of evidence.

Espy, 25, has claimed he was defending himself when he shot Joseph Thomas Burton on April 3, 2005, at the Club Oasis on Plummer Road.

Espy told Madison County sheriff's investigators he shot Burton in self defense, but he apparently disclosed that information after the deputies informed Espy of his Miranda rights and he had asked that a lawyer be present. Circuit Judge Loyd H. Little declared Espy's statements during the interview as inadmissible in the trial.

Without Espy's statement, the state has insufficient evidence to proceed, Assistant District Attorney Bill Starnes said Monday.

Espy's trial was scheduled to begin Monday before Circuit Judge Loyd H. Little Jr.

The shooting occurred about 3:30 a.m. at the nightclub. Witnesses told deputies Burton was near the door of the club where Espy, then an engineering student at UAH, was handing out fraternity flyers. Espy and Burton began to argue after Espy made a lewd remark about Burton's girlfriend, a witness told the officers.

The two men got into Espy's car where they argued and Burton assaulted Espy, according to Robert Tuten, Espy's lawyer. Espy reached behind the seat, pulled out a .40-caliber pistol and shot Burton, he said.

A grand jury indicted Espy on the charge of murder in May 2006.

"This is one of the best examples of self defense, I've ever seen," Tuten said. A person has a right to defend himself against an assailant who attacks him in the front seat of his car, he said.

During questioning by sheriff's investigators, Espy asked for a lawyer, Tuten said. He made other statements to the officers after the request.

In his motion to suppress those statements, Tuten said the statements the investigators obtained from Espy during the interview were in violation of Espy's privilege against self-incrimination.

In August 2007, Little ruled for the defendant.

"The court has reviewed the video of the defendant's interrogation concerning his involvement in this case," Little wrote in his order. "Based upon the defendant's unambiguous request to have an attorney present during question, the statements made by the defendant are suppressed and shall not be admissible if offered by the state in support of the charge.'

The state appealed Little's ruling to the Alabama Court of Criminal appeals. The appeal was rejected by the appeals court as having been filed after the time limit had expired.

Espy, who was out of jail on a $30,000 bond, is a student at Tuskegee University and is scheduled to graduate in a few months, Tuten said.

The prosecution can again charge Espy with murder in Burton's death at a later date, if there is new evidence.

Labels: AL, altercation

Man killed entering wrong apartment

A Huntsville man was killed early today when he entered the wrong apartment and was shot by its resident.

According to Huntsville police spokesman Wendell Johnson, about 12:07 a.m. north precinct officers were called to a shooting at 1002 Webster Drive. When they arrived, they found the body of Gary Lee McCarty, 34, at the rear of Apartment B.

A preliminary investigation by the major crimes unit showed McCarty had been drinking and locked himself out of his apartment.

When McCarty tried to crawl through the rear window of what was the wrong apartment, he was fatally shot by the resident who thought McCarty was a burglar, Johnson said. The resident's name was not released.

Charges were not filed against the resident, Johnson said.

The evidence will be presented to the Madison County district attorney's office to be considered by a grand jury, Johnson said.

Further links:
Man shot to death early Sunday morning

Labels: AL, home invasion

DIP shooting death ruled self-defense

Wednesday's shooting death of Michael Jerome Brown has been termed an act of self-defense.

Police spokesman Officer John Young said Friday that a man shot Brown, 29, multiple times inside an apartment in Garden Park Estates, after Brown threatened residents with a firearm.

Brown's body was found by police at 3:45 a.m. Wednesday inside an apartment in the 1000 block of E. Woodlawn Drive off Dauphin Island Parkway, Young said.

Police are withholding the name of the man who shot Brown, Young said, because charges have not been brought against him. Young also declined to comment on whether the man is a resident of the apartment community.

Police on Friday would also not say why Brown brandished a weapon and threatened residents.

Young did, however, say Brown was not a resident of the apartment community and that he was visiting people living in an apartment on the block where he was killed.

The case, Young said, will now go before a Mobile County grand jury.

Labels: AL, altercation

Tallassee home invasion turns deadly

A man apparently was fatally wounded by shots from his own firearm when it was taken away from him during a Christmas morning home invasion in Tallassee, authorities said.

Investigators said two men had forced their way into the residence shortly after 2:30 a.m. Tuesday while the occupants were asleep. Once inside, one of the intruders held an occupant at gunpoint, but at some point had the handgun wrestled away and several rounds were fired at him.

Both suspects fled the scene, and Tallapoosa County sheriff's officers said Lee Antion Donaldson, 29, of Montgomery was admitted to Baptist South in Montgomery at 5 a.m. Wednesday with gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead a short time later.

Tallapoosa County Sheriff Jimmy Abbett told The Alexander City Outlook his department is working with the Montgomery Police Department to determine if Donaldson was at the scene of the Tallassee home invasion.

The sheriff said Thursday that Donaldson's possible connection to the home invasion was still under investigation.

Labels: AL, criminal's gun taken away and used against him, home invasion

Resident shoots, kills home intruder

A Madison man shot and killed a man who was apparently trying to rob him in his apartment Sunday afternoon. Police are also looking for a woman who was the dead man's accomplice.

According to police reports, Paul Crabtree and Mary Elizabeth Holt were apparently armed with knives when they barged into a home at Charleston Oaks Apartments, 222 Kyser Boulevard around 4:10 p.m.

The resident shot Crabtree in the upper left chest. HEMSI paramedics took him to Huntsville Hospital where he later died.

The woman is 5-foot-8 with blonde hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a pink hoody with a Confederate flag on it.

Labels: AL, home invasion

A burglary suspect was shot and killed Saturday night during an attempted home invasion just outside Cowarts, and a second suspect is in custody.

Houston County Sheriff Andy Hughes said the homeowner dialed 911 at 7:41 p.m. reporting two men had broken into his house, located just east of the intersection of Forrester Road and U.S. 84 East, across the road from Ace Hardware.

The homeowner has been identified as Pete T. Webb.

“The homeowner was inside the residence,” said Houston County Sheriff Andy Hughes. “Two black males burglarized the residence and he confronted both of them. The homeowner had a handgun and he ordered both men to the floor.”

Hughes said one of the suspects got up from the floor and charged the homeowner.

“One shot was fired by the homeowner,” Hughes said.

The suspects then ran from the house. One was captured by authorities and the other was found lying about 100 yards from the house. He died at the scene in a lot where Grandview Baptist Church is being constructed.

At 10:30 p.m., Houston County Coroner Robert Byrd said he has not been notified by authorities.

Just before press time, authorities were having trouble identifying the deceased and the suspect in custody. Deputies said the two might be related or could be brothers.

“We have not IDed them,” said Captain Antonio Gonzales. “We are getting false information from people.”

A woman identified as the victim’s mother, Louise Bostick, was brought to the scene but was unable to approach the victim, Gonzales said. “She was on the scene but was too distraught. She wouldn’t view the body,” he said.

Labels: AL, residence burglary

Three arrests made in botched burglary attempt

Three men were arrested by police Monday night shortly after a botched burglary attempt.

According to a Tuscaloosa Police Department news release, Aaron Phelps, 23, Rhett Phelps, 19, and Jeremy Porter, 20, were arrested on first- degree burglary charges. Police say they tried to burglarize a residence in the 3400 block of Second Street Northeast about 8:15 p.m. Monday.

Police said the resident was watching TV when he heard a knock at his front door. When he opened the door to see if anyone was outside, he saw a man armed with a shotgun and wearing a Confederate flag bandana over his face.

The resident slammed the door and ran into the kitchen, police said. But he was caught by the man with the shotgun, who had forced his way in through the front door, and another man.

Police said the burglars held a shotgun to the resident's head and demanded money, but the resident pushed the shotgun aside and began fighting with the burglars.

At some point during the fight, the resident grabbed the barrel of the shotgun while the intruder was still holding the other end, stepped outside his home and yelled for help.

While wrestling over the shotgun outside, the assailant pulled the trigger, but the shot missed the resident.

The resident managed to pull the shotgun from the assailant's hands and both intruders fled into the woods nearby. Police said a third person joined the pair as they fled. The investigation led officials to the three, who were taken into custody and confessed, police said. Bail was set at $25,000 each. The resident suffered minor injuries.

Labels: AL, criminal's gun taken away and used against him, home invasion

Newlywed Fight Ends in Gunfire

A man ends up in the hospital after his wife of 4 months shoots him in the knee.

Kim Brown told the Escambia County Sheriff's Office that her newlywed husband tried to attack her in the shower, so she shot him in the knee.

Brown kicked David Crockett out of the house a few days ago and he had been sleeping in his vehicle in the backyard. This morning, deputies say Crockett forced his way into the house and tried to sexually assault his wife. During the attack, Brown grabbed a gun and shot Crockett.

Crockett was taken to Baptist Hospital. He will be charged with Battery, False Imprisonment, Attempted Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence.

Labels: AL, domestic dispute, female, rape

… jury returns not guilty verdict in murder trial
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Not guilty of murder In the other trial, a jury deliberated for more than four hours before finding a Grove Hill man not guilty last Friday of the 2005 murder of a Zimco man, apparently believing defense attorneys' claims that the shooting death was in self-defense.

Nathan Chapman, then 44, shot and killed Kelvin Louis Foster, 37 in Fulton on Dec. 1, 2005. Foster was shot in the back with a .45 caliber pistol.

Chapman turned himself in at the Clarke County Jail in Grove Hill almost immediately after the shooting, claiming self-defense. Law enforcement officers charged him with murder.

The trial lasted a week in Judge Stuart DuBose's court with District Attorney Spence Walker leading the case for the prosecution and James Brandyburg and Phil Perkins defending Chapman.

Prosecutors contended that the two men had differences and that Foster busted out the windows of Chapman's vehicle sometime prior to their fatal confrontation. They contended that Chapman got a gun and ambushed Foster outside of his workplace.

The defense said that Foster pulled a gun on Chapman first and that Chapman fired back, killing him.

A loaded and cocked derringer handgun was found in Foster's vehicle.

Chapman testified in his own defense. There were no other witnesses to the shooting.

Labels: AL, altercation

Enterprise Business Owner Shoots Burglar

Two brothers are behind bars after one of them was shot while allegedly trying to break into an Enterprise business Tuesday night.

Police identify the suspects as 21-year-old Contrell McReynolds and 19-year old Donwone Frazier.

Both have been charged with burglary.

They are accused of trying to kick in a side-door at Fred's feed and seed on Park Avenue just before midnight.

But the owner was inside and opened fire with a shotgun.

McReynolds and Frazier were arrested after McReynolds showed up at a hospital emergency room with a gunshot wound to the arm.

He was treated and taken to jail.

Labels: AL, business robbery

DeKalb Co. Man Kills Intruder With Shotgun

The DeKalb County Sheriff's Department is investigating an overnight incident where a homeowner apparently shot and killed an intruder. However, the homeowner is recovering from multiple stab wounds himself.

Sheriff Jimmy Harris says deputies got a call just after 2 o'clock Monday morning that a stabbing and shooting had taken place at a home on County Road 764 near Ider.

Ider Police, Henagar Police, and the DeKalb County Sheriff's Department responded, to find Jerry Lee Miller, 41, suffering from numerous stab wounds. Police and deputies searched the home and found a second victim in another room, Joseph E. Williams, 31, of Jackson County. Williams was dead, from a gunshot wound to the stomach.

Witnesses tell investigators Williams allegedly attacked Miller in his sleep with a large kitchen knife, stabing him several times in his back and arms. A family member interrupted the attack, and Miller was able to get a shotgun, and shoot Williams in the stomach.

Investigators have collected evidence at the scene, and the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences is performing an autopsy on Williams' body.

Sheriff Harris says there are no charges at this time.

Labels: AL, assault

Jury acquits man of murder

Rodney Hamilton told a Mobile jury this week that he shot Miyako Hill five times in self-defense.

On Thursday, after two hours of deliberation, the jury acquitted Hamilton of murder.

Court officials said Friday that during the trial before Circuit Judge John Lockett, prosecutors argued it wasn't self-defense but an ambush that took the life of Hill as he sat in his Chevrolet Avalanche in the driveway of Hamilton's Cheyenne Parkway home in Prichard.

It was the city's first homicide of 2007, occurring nine hours into the new year.

Officials said that in testimony this week before Lockett, Hamilton and Hill knew each other through their patronage of a Prichard barbershop and that around mid-December last year Hamilton borrowed $300 from Hill.

The agreement, witnesses said, was that by Dec. 28 Hamilton would repay the $300, plus an unusually hefty interest -- 150.

He couldn't come up with the money on that date and asked for more time, Hamilton testified, and a day or so later paid Hill the $450, court officials said.

But Hill wasn't satisfied, Hamilton said, and informed him that since he had been late on repaying the original loan, Hamilton now owed Hill another $450.

Hill then began a campaign of threats and intimidation, Hamilton testified, along with showing up at his house in the middle of the night.

Court officials said Hamilton and some of his family members, including children, testified that Hill returned around 9 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 1.

Hamilton's 10-year-old daughter testified she was awakened that morning by a man carrying a gun and banging on her bedroom window.

She told her father, and Hamilton confronted Hill outside, according to testimony. Officials said that according to Hamilton, Hill got back into his vehicle but refused to leave the defendant's property, then began smoking a marijuana cigarette.

Hamilton, 33, said at that point he believed Hill, 28, was going for a gun, and Hamilton shot him with a .38-caliber revolver.

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Labels: AL, altercation

Burglar made to clean up mess

After a robber cleaned out a Montgomery couple's home, the couple made him clean up -- at gunpoint.

When Adrian and Tiffany McKinnon returned to their Centennial Hill home, the husband and wife discovered that thieves had broke into the Ross Street residence and cleaned the house out of almost everything the family of five owned, said Tiffany McKinnon, crying as she spoke.

"Tears just rolled down my face as I walked in and saw everything gone and piles of trash all over my home," said the woman, who discov­ered the burglary Tuesday when they went home to pre­pare for the rest of their fam­ily's return after a week away.

Reassuring her that every­thing would be all right, her husband sent her to her sis­ter's home a block away while he inspected the piles of ransacked items.

It was while he was doing this, making his way back into the sunroom, when she said a man walked in the back door, straight into her husband.

"My husband Adrian caught the thief red-handed in our home," she said, a smile replacing the frown on her face.

"And what is even crazier, the man even had my hus­band's hat sitting right on his head," she said.

Adrian McKinnon held the suspect -- Tajuan Bullock, 33, of 2963 University Drive -- at gunpoint and told him to sit on the floor until he de­cided what he was going to do, she said.

"We made this man clean up all the mess he made, piles of stuff, he had thrown out of my drawers and cabi­nets onto the floor," she said.

Once police arrived, Bul­lock complained to them about being forced at gun­point to clean up the home.

"This man had the nerve to raise sand about us mak­ing him clean up the mess he made in my house," she said. "The police officer laughed at him when he complained and said anybody else would have shot him dead.

"That made the man shut up."

Police arrested Bullock at 2 p.m. Tuesday on burglary and theft charges, said Capt. Huey Thornton, a Montgom­ery Police Department spokesman.

Bullock is being held in the Montgomery County De­tention Facility on a $30,000 bond.

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Labels: AL, residence burglary

Man Shot by Brother

Florence Police say a man shot his brother this weekend.

It happened around noon Sunday at a house on Shelly Lane in Florence. Investigators say Beau Behel shot his brother, Sam, once in the stomach.

Doctors operated on the 39-year-old and he's in stable condition.

Police do not expect to formally charged Beau Behel. It could be self defense.

Florenc [sic] Police say Sam Behel tried to stab his brother, Beau, during an arguument [sic], so Beau pulled out a gun and fired it.

Labels: AL, domestic dispute

Elderly Woman Shoots Homeless Man In Her Laundry Room

Mobile police said an 81-year-old woman shot a homeless man this morning after finding him washing his clothes in her laundry room.

Police spokesman Officer Eric Gallichant told the Press-Register that Ethel Sanders told people she heard noises in her laundry room. When she went to investigate, she found a man standing in his underwear near the washing machine.

Gallichant said Sanders was carrying a handgun and shot the man when he came at her. He said Sanders fell to the ground and dropped the gun after firing.

Gallichant said the man grabbed the gun, pointed it at Sanders and took his clothes from the washing machine.

The man fled and Sanders called police just before 8 a.m. Officers caught the man at the nearby Plateau Community Center.

James Penn, who is 25, was taken to University of South Alabama Medical Center. Gallichant said he is expected to survive. Upon release from the hospital, Gallichant said, Penn will be charged with first-degree burglary.

Labels: AL, residence burglary

Fairfield man kills pit bull that attacked mother, dog

A Fairfield man shot and killed a dog that was attacking his mother and her pet dog Tuesday morning.

Joann Farley said she had let her small mixed-breed dog "out to go to the bathroom" in front of her house on 50th Street about 6:40 a.m. when a pit bull, which lived at a neighbor's house, jumped the dog, she said. Her son, Raymond Farley, was able to pry the pit bull's jaws open to get the small dog released, she said.

"I ran out in nothing but my gown. I picked up my little dog and it (the pit bull) bit me on the arm, trying to get my dog again," she said. "When he bit me I dropped my dog and he got it again."

Finally, Raymond Farley shot the attacking dog twice with a .38-caliber pistol, killing it.

Joann Farley went to Trinity Medical Center for treatment of her arm, where she received 12 stitches, she said.

Terra Cotromano of The Emergency Animal Rescue Service said she was called to come help with the injured dog.

"When I got there the little dog was lying there on the ground. It couldn't get up. He (Raymond Farley) was trying to deal with his mother. I took the dog to the vet. It really doesn't look very good for it," she said.

Joann Farley, who has several small dogs, said the pit bull has attacked them before.

Fairfield Police Chief Mardis said he expects to charge the pit bull's owner, who lives in Birmingham, with violating the city's leash law. It wasn't clear why the dog was at the address in Fairfield.

Joann Farley said she is also concerned with whether the pit bull had been vaccinated for rabies. She said she was told it been vaccinated, but the remains had been removed from her yard by the time she returned home from the hospital.

"I've got to try to find the body (for testing) or get some proof that it had been vaccinated," she said.

Cotromano said the incident lends further support to people who want to see a dangerous-dog law in place.

"There are some who want it breed-specific, but I believe it should be addressed by the (individual) animal that presents a danger to the public."

Labels: AL, animal

Charges dropped against grocery robbery suspect

The owner of a small, neighborhood grocery who was recently robbed says he’s confident the Dothan Police Department will find the man who stole his money.

Jay Enfinger, 77, who owns the Stough Street Grocery, said he hopes he does not get robbed again after authorities released a teenager arrested last week who had been charged with robbing his store.

“You have to watch everybody that comes in the door,” Enfinger said. “If it’s somebody you don’t know you have to pay more attention. You just stay alert all the time. You stay kind of worried it can happen anywhere anytime, and you just have to stay alert and hope the Lord will protect you.”

A man with a green bandanna covering his face robbed Enfinger at knifepoint on Sept. 18 around 10 a.m. Later that day police arrested 19-year-old Cordaryl Cornelius Berry and charged him with felony robbery of the store. He was jailed on a $50,000 bond.

Two days later, Houston County District Attorney Doug Valeska dismissed the charges against Berry after the police investigator approached him about the evidence in the case.

“A witness changed his story ... wasn’t sure,” Valeska said. “The police did the right thing. When we prosecute people we want to be sure.”

Valeska said the police investigator contacted him and said he was not satisfied with the case based on the initial information obtained during the investigation.

“I personally drove the order to the jail ... you know there’s overcrowding over there,” Valeska said. “I just didn’t want the kid to spend any more time in jail.”

Valeska said Dothan police are still investigating the robbery. The robbery became the third time in as many years someone attempted to steal from Enfinger’s community grocery. He has been robbed twice at his store and he thwarted a third attempt when he pulled a gun during the robbery.

“I feel like they are pretty sure he’s not the one, otherwise they’d have kept the charges,” Enfinger said. “I’d rather lose a little money since nobody got hurt rather than see an innocent person in jail.”

Enfinger, who has owned the store for 35 years, said he plans to protect himself if someone tries to rob him again. Last week, Enfinger attempted to shoot the man who robbed him, but his handgun misfired.

“I just have to try and stay in reach of my protection, sometimes people will make you do things you don’t want to do,” Enfinger said. “I think the police are doing a great job, but they can’t do it all by themselves. They need the community’s help.”

Labels: AL, business robbery

Homeowner aids in arrests of two

The homeowner normally wouldn't have been home in the middle of the day. He should have been at work. But he came home at 1 p.m. Tuesday to check on a cable repair job.

Lucky for him he did.

When the Deatsville man pulled into his driveway in the Dusty Trail neighborhood, he saw a strange car and noticed the front door was standing open. He suspected something was wrong. And he was right.

Inside, two would-be burglars were ransacking the house.

"He went inside and confronted them," said Capt. Joe Sedinger of the Autauga County Sheriff's Department. "They told him they were looking for somebody who owed them money. He didn't buy it. They ran out, he met them around front and shot the tire out."

The victim, whom Sedinger would not identify, used a 20-gauge shotgun to blast the rear tire of a Kia coupe as the suspects attempted to speed away. His aim was true, and it helped deputies make an arrest.

Sgt. Casey Ott found the suspects a short time later along a secluded dirt road, attempting to change the flat tire.

"One of them looked like he was going to run," Ott said. "I drew down on them and got them on the ground. I called for backup, and help came pretty quick."

Arrested on burglary charges were Gary Arnold Alvies, 22, of 409 Mockingbird St., Prattville, and Aaron Michael Pace, 22, of 208 Deer Trace, Prattville.

They are being held in the Autauga County Metro Jail under no bonds pending a parole revocation hearing, courthouse records show. Both are on parole for theft-related charges, the records showed.

Sheriff Herbie Johnson applauded the quick action of the homeowner.

"A man has the right to protect himself, his family and his property," said Johnson. "I'm so proud of him. I'm thinking about buying him a box of shells so he can keep that shotgun loaded."

Labels: AL, residence burglary

Police: Man shot dead after kicking in door

A 20-year-old man was shot and killed early Sunday after he kicked down the front door of another man's home in Creola, authorities said.
…

In Creola, the two men had been arguing over the phone before Justin Cox went to the home just off U.S. 43 and kicked the door off its hinges, said Cpl. Gary Davis of the Creola Police Department.

Ronnie Freeman, who was at home with his wife and baby, shot Cox with a rifle, Davis said. So far, Freeman does not face any criminal charges, Davis said.

Investigators believe Cox intended to hurt Freeman, Davis said.

The case remains under investigation and will be presented to a Mobile County grand jury, Davis said. The shooting took place about 1:30 a.m. on Carroll Lane, Davis said.

Labels: AL, altercation, assault

Man shot in the back

A man was shot in the back with a pellet gun following an argument that broke out Monday afternoon while he and two other men were drinking and cooking on a grill in Saraland, authorities said.

Investigators believed that the three men were cooking when the homeowner asked one of the men to leave, according to a news release from the Saraland Police Department.

The man refused to leave, so the homeowner went inside his house at 223 Short St., located near Bayou Sara, said police spokesman Sgt. Leroy Smith.

The man followed the homeowner in and attempted to hit him, the release said.

The homeowner grabbed a pellet rifle and shot the man in the back, the release said.

No charges have been filed, and the case will be presented to the next available Mobile County grand jury, Smith said. The victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries, the release said.

Labels: AL, altercation, assault

Murder jury acquits Callahan

Morgan Circuit Court panel believes 2006 shooting of Cullman man was self-defense

A Morgan County jury sent Mark Anthony Callahan home Friday to raise his five children.

The jury acquitted Callahan, 38, in Circuit Court of murder in the July 1, 2006, shooting death of Ricky Gilley, 30, of Cullman.

The jury believed the shooting was in self-defense.

"He's certainly elated and just wanted to get home with his children," Callahan's attorney, Larry Madison, said after the verdict.

Assistant District Attorney Paul Matthews scrutinized Callahan's testimony about what happened the night of the shooting.

Callahan said he feared for his and his five children's lives. He said Gilley had gotten Callahan's gun and threatened him. He said he managed to wrestle the gun away and shot Gilley.

Callahan said an argument between him, Gilley and his girlfriend preceded the shooting.

Gilley's girlfriend, who is also Callahan's first cousin, testified that Callahan rubbed her leg and that is what caused the fight.

Testimony revealed that the three had consumed one bottle of liquor and had started on another bottle before the shooting. A pathologist testified that Gilley died from a gunshot wound to the chest. He said the shooting occurred at close range, no more than 21/2 feet away.

Madison used that testimony to argue his case, saying it proved Callahan wrestled the gun from Gilley.

Matthews told the jury that Callahan could have walked away and that there was no sign of a fight inside Callahan's home at Somerville.

"Cussing someone doesn't justify killing them," Matthews argued. "You tell him today he's not justified. He's guilty of murder."

Madison told the jury that Callahan didn't have to leave his home.

"This man was in his home and his children's home," Madison said.

He asked the jury for an acquittal, and a little less than an hour later the jury returned the verdict.
Circuit Judge Steve Haddock discharged Callahan and told him he was free to go.

He left the courtroom and, on the way out of the courthouse, kissed two of his five children whom he said he is raising alone.

Callahan told the jury Thursday that his wife abandoned him and the children more than a year ago when she left with another man.

Labels: AL, assault, criminal's gun taken away and used against him, domestic dispute

No one charged in killing
Barbershop case now goes to grand jury

Homicide investigators haven’t charged anyone in the shooting Saturday that occurred at Brown’s Barbershop on Seventh Street.

Maurice Spencer, 32, died as a result of gunshot wounds he sustained in the 4:15 p.m. altercation, officials said.

Spencer, a barber at the shop, got into an argument with a 26-year-old man that resulted in the slaying, investigators said.

The name of the alleged shooter was not released, but Otis Brown, owner of the barbershop, said Spencer was shot by a man named Carl, who also cut hair at the establishment.

Capt. Loyd Baker, commander of the Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit, said the discussions with the Tuscaloosa County District Attorney’s Office revealed that the state’s new self-defense law, which eliminates the condition that a person must reasonably try to escape or flee before killing an attacker, may apply in this case.

“We’re going to take this case to the grand jury, hopefully during the August session to determine what -- if any -- charges will be brought against the shooter," Baker said.

Labels: AL, altercation

2 men arrested for stealing garbage

Two men were arrested for trying to steal garbage.

24 year old Timothy Darnell Maynor and 20 year old Shaun Christopher Holley targeted the home of a disabled Limestone County man, apparently trying to steal the aluminum cans he collected for supplemental income.

The men didn't get the cans, but they did get a big surprise.

Robert Shoulder proved that he may be down, but certainly don't count him out.

"To supplement his income, he does get out and try to collect cans for resale," says Captain Stanley Mcnatt.

Shoulder says the night before the incident, sacks full of cans turned up missing.

"The next day I come back by there and I caught these boys stealing my cans," says Shoulder.

He immediately called the Limestone County Sheriff's Department.

"Well I was out there in the yard. They thought we had gone. I was sitting in the truck and they walked back up, cause they were going to try to get in the car and get away," says Shoulder. : "The one guy, he started towards me and I told him to stop and he kept coming, so I pulled my gun out on him and he was made to lay down on the ground."

The partner was also made to wait for law enforcement.

"They observed our victim having 2 individuals held at gunpoint, that he had caught stealing his aluminum cans," says Mcnatt. "It is unusual, but it's not the first time that this has happened, where a victim of a crime has held someone at gunpoint, but it is unusual....."

Sheriff's officials say they also cleared up another burglary case with these arrests.

Labels: AL, residence burglary

Homeowner held thieves at gunpoint until officers arrived

Stealing three bags of aluminum cans worth a total of $25 can cost more than it pays.

That’s what two Athens men learned Friday.

Timothy Darnell Maynor, 24, of 17356 Lucas Ferry Road, and Shaun Christopher Holley, 20, of 1703 Edward St., were arrested after the owner of the cans held the two at gunpoint until sheriff’s deputies arrived.

“The homeowner came home and found these two guys in his yard stealing the aluminum cans he had collected,” said Limestone County Chief Investigator Stanley McNatt. “He pulled a gun on them and held them until Investigator Josh McLaughlin and Deputy Tim Craig got there.”

The arrests led investigators to other thefts the duo may have committed, McNatt said.

“When we were questioning them, Investigator Brian Ruble was working a burglary on Poff Lane where two rifles and a back pack were stolen,” he said. “We searched their car and found those stolen items inside the vehicle.”

He said the two men were also charged for theft in another home burglary on Poff Lane. Maynor and a companion, Erica King, 31, of 19472 Heron Drive, Athens, are also charged with the burglary of a home last October.

Maynor was being held in the Limestone County Jail Friday night on charges of third-degree theft and three counts of third-degree burglary. Holley is charged with third-degree theft and two counts of third-degree burglary. King is charged with third-degree burglary.

Labels: AL, residence burglary

Man captures intruder at gunpoint

Three people apparently didn’t believe in the old saying “three strikes and you’re out,” or else they wouldn’t have attempted to burglarize the same Sardis City home Wednesday morning.

Sardis City police Chief James Alverson said he believes three men were responsible for burglaries on June 21 and Monday of a U.S. 431 South residence and apparently were attempting a third burglary when things didn’t go as planned.

Alverson said a friend of the homeowner was staying at the home Wednesday when he heard a vehicle pull up to the house and blow its horn.

The unidentified friend told police he looked out the window and saw a black truck, with which he was not familiar, in front of the house. A short time later, the doorbell rang, but the friend did not respond.

Alverson said the friend told police that, a few minutes later, one of the men popped open the lock on the back door with a screwdriver and entered the house.

The man then started toward the basement door in what was believed to be an effort to let an accomplice into the house.

The homeowner’s friend, who had a pistol, confronted the surprised burglar and told him, “Don’t you move!”

Believing he might be shot, the man did not move. Then the friend proceeded to take the intruder outside, asking him, “Where’s your other buddy at?”

A man in the pickup truck in the driveway saw his partner being held at gunpoint and quickly drove back to U.S. 431.

The truck’s driver stopped to speak with a second man, parked as an apparent lookout, in a red vehicle near the highway.

The two then waited for the home’s occupant and his captive to approach, at which time the occupant told his prisoner, “You better tell your buddies they just better go on.”

(Long, involved, and interesting story)

Labels: AL, residence burglary

Sheffield man acquitted in 2005 killing of mom's boyfriend

A Colbert County jury has acquitted a Sheffield man of murder in the shooting death of his mother's boyfriend, a killing he claimed was in self-defense when threatened in his home.

Cameron Stephan Garth, 46, was acquitted Monday after testifying that he shot Mitchell Parnell, 64, after he returned home in the early hours of July 3, 2005, and questioned Parnell about why his mother was crying.

"He said he was going to cut my throat," Garth said. "It made me mad because he said he was going to cut my throat in my own home."

Garth said he got a .38-caliber revolver from his bedroom and fired when Parnell, who was sitting on a bed, lunged at him.

Prosecutors told the jury it was not an act of self-defense.

"It's unreasonable for him to try and have you believe he was afraid of a 64-year-old man with heart disease and emphysema," Assistant District Attorney Angela Hulsey said.

But defense attorney Steve Aldridge asked jurors to put themselves in Garth's shoes.

"If you had come home at two in the morning and the first thing you hear is the evil man say 'I will cut your throat' and then you hear your mama crying in the bathroom, would you have gotten a gun?" Aldridge asked.

Labels: AL, assault, domestic dispute

Stepdad kills son: police

Athens authorities say shooting appears to be self-defense; parents threatened with ax

Athens police responded Friday night to a shooting at an Athens home and found one man dead in an apparent act of self-defense.

Athens Police Chief Wayne Harper said Jason Bickerstaff, 38, of Athens came to the home of his mother and stepfather at 301 Gale Lane demanding a shotgun and threatening them with a double-bladed ax.

The incident occurred at about 8 p.m., when a neighbor reported hearing Bickerstaff drive up and later heard Bickerstaff's mother, Linda Curtis, screaming. The neighbor said she did not hear any gunfire.

Bickerstaff's stepfather, Dave Curtis, went into the bedroom to get the shotgun, Harper said. Bickerstaff followed and again threatened his stepfather with the ax and knocked him down. At that point, Dave Curtis retrieved a pistol he had in the bedroom and shot Bickerstaff, Harper said.

Limestone County Coroner Mike West said Bickerstaff had two gunshot wounds in his chest, both from a .38-caliber pistol.

After the shooting, Dave Curtis went outside to wait for Athens police to arrive, Harper said.

Harper said police are not yet sure why Bickerstaff was demanding the shotgun, but he said police had received a report earlier Friday that Bickerstaff had been involved in an altercation with someone over money.

Police were still investigating the case late Friday. Harper said there were no plans to charge Dave Curtis in the shooting.

Labels: AL, assault, domestic dispute

Suspected intruder shot, killed at Hayes High School

An alleged intruder was shot and killed this morning during a struggle with a Birmingham City Schools security officer at Hayes High School.

Two school security officers were dispatched to the school at 3 a.m. after they were alerted to a break-in, said school system spokeswoman Regina Waller. When they arrived, they saw a man exiting the school through a window.

As one of the officers was trying to handcuff the man, the suspect turned and tried to attack him, Waller said. They fell to the ground in a struggle, and the security guard's gun discharged.

The intruder was taken to University Hospital, where he underwent surgery and died, Waller said.

Birmingham police evidence investigators remained on the scene at 10:30 a.m.

Jefferson County Chief Deputy Coroner Jay Glass identified the dead man as 24-year-old Alfonzo Turner of Birmingham.

Waller said the school security officer has been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation.

Labels: AL, intruder

Armed clerk thwarts robber

A masked man’s robbery attempt was thwarted Tuesday night when his intended victim pulled a gun on him, police said.

At 9:23 p.m., a man armed with a gun and wearing a mask entered Winston’s Mini-Mart in the 2500 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and demanded money from the clerk at gunpoint, according to police.

Police said the clerk, who was behind a bulletproof glass window, refused the man’s demands and pulled out a gun of his own.

Police said the robber ran from the store in an unknown direction.

Nothing was taken, and no one was injured.

Labels: AL, business robbery

Bessemer, AL (AHN) - Two employees at an Alabama Wachovia bank were killed Monday when they were shot during a holdup around 9 a.m. Two other employees were wounded, one of them seriously.

Birmingham News reports Bill Vietch, chief assistant district attorney in the Bessemer Cutoff, said, "We have two cases of capital murder and hopefully we won't have to file a third."

Reports state that the gunman walked up to the tellers and started shooting. The first two he shot were killed.

The robber took the bank manager hostage after a customer pulled a gun on him. He exited the bank holding a gun to the manager's head but tripped on a curb outside the building, fell and was shot by police.

Labels: AL, business robbery

Man found shot faces robbery charge

Mobile police said Wednesday that the passenger found shot last week inside a wrecked car was responsible for a botched robbery that left him wounded and the driver of the car dead.

Travis Goff, 23, was charged with two counts of first-degree robbery and was taken to the Mobile County Metro Jail, according to police spokesman Officer Eric Gallichant.

Goff was found shot April 26 inside in a maroon, older-model Buick at Mobile and Betbeze streets in an area behind Three Mile Creek and the University of South Alabama Medical Center, police said.

Antron Willis, 22, was found dead in the driver's seat. The car hit a fence and came to a stop on the lawn in front of a house on the northwest corner of Mobile and Betbeze streets.

Investigators believe the men were trying to drive themselves to the hospital.

Gallichant gave the following account Wednesday of what led to the wreck and eventually Goff's arrest:

Goff, Willis and a third person, identified Wednesday as Anthony Legget, were in the same room at Willis' residence on Betbeze Street.

While they were together, Goff attempted to rob Willis and Legget, and Goff and Willis began struggling over a handgun, Gallichant said.

Police believe the robbery was drug-related, the spokesman said.

While Goff and Willis struggled, Legget got another handgun from somewhere inside the house, and began shooting. "Unfortunately, he shot Willis as well as Goff in this melee," Gallichant said.

Willis and Goff left the house, and Willis got into Goff's Buick, Gallichant said. Willis was trying to drive away when Goff jumped into the car as well, and the two drove until they hit the fence, Gallichant said.

No charged had been filed against Legget as of Wednesday, Gallichant said, and that case would be sent to a Mobile County grand jury for review.

Labels: AL, residence robbery

Huntsville homeowner kills intruder

One man was shot and killed as he allegedly broke into a residence at 900 Julia Street just before 4 a.m. today.

According to Huntsville police reports, a man was startled by a loud banging at his front door, and he and his roommate armed themselves and went to investigate. They discovered someone kicking in the front door, and one of the offenders was shot and killed as he entered the residence with a pistol in his hands.

The other offender ran away.

The names of the victims and the person who was shot and killed were being withheld early today.

Man who killed intruder unlikely to face charges

An apartment resident who shot and killed an armed man who broke down his apartment door will not likely face charges, Huntsville police said.

Police investigators are looking at the incident as self-defense, police spokesman Wendell Johnson said Monday afternoon.

Police identified the intruder as Demarcus Williams, 26, of 3406 Elizabeth St.

The identity of the shooter, who lives at 900 Julia St. No. D, is being withheld by Sgt. Ed Cain of the major crimes unit, Johnson said.

Johnson said the man and his roommate were awakened about 3:15 a.m. Monday when someone tried to break in the front door. The two residents armed themselves, he said.

Williams, who was wearing a mask and had a gun, came into the apartment after kicking down the door, Johnson said. One of the residents shot and killed Williams.

"When somebody breaks in your house and you are in fear of your life, you have the right to self-defense," Johnson said. "But it's still under investigation."

Johnson said police are not releasing why Williams broke into the apartment and Johnson did not know if Williams and the apartment residents knew one another.

Investigators will decide whether to send the results of their investigation to the district attorney for further review, Johnson said.

Williams' shooting death was the city's seventh homicide of the year.

More

Labels: AL, home invasion

Alleged robber who had gun pulled on him now in custody

A robber, who ran after a would-be victim pulled a gun on him, is now in custody, Decatur police said Wednesday.

With a towel wrapped around his hand to give the impression he was armed, Nicholas Bernard Lawson, 23, of 623 Central Parkway, Apt. No. 6, took cash and a pizza off a Domino's employee outside his apartment building on Jan. 11, police said.

The robbery took place amid the rash of armed robberies of pizza deliverymen earlier this year that prompted that particular driver, 52-year-old Rolando Zargosa, to arm himself while working his part-time job.

Zargosa told the masked robber that his wallet was in the car and went to get it, but instead reached into his pocket and pulled out his pistol.

The robber fled into a breezeway between the apartments, spilling the pizza, when he saw the gun.

Sgt. Chris Jones said police developed Lawson as a suspect and arrested him Tuesday on a charge of first-degree robbery. He will be taken to Morgan County Jail and held in lieu of $25,000 bond.

Labels: AL, pizza delivery driver, street robbery

Jurors Say Leamon Acted in Self Defense

That's the verdict Friday in a Madison County murder trial. Today's verdict could set a precedent for future cases involving the use of deadly force in the state of Alabama. Leamon is now a free man, and his attorney says today's verdict is a victory for all Alabama homeowners.

After two days of deliberations, the jury reached their verdict just before noon today. Steven Leamon claimed that he fatally shot Christopher Griffin because the victim was trying to kick through his front door in the middle of the night. The shooting happened at Leamon's Huntsville home back in November of 2005. Leamon's attorney Roy Miller says Griffin intended to rob his client.

This could be a precedent-setting case as a result of Alabama's "lethal force law" which was passed by state lawmakers last year. That law allows home and business owners to kill an intruder without penalty if they believe they are in eminent (sic) danger.

Labels: AL, home invasion, residence robbery

Brother says shots fired in self-defense

A man said Wednesday his only intention in shooting his half-brother's car was to end a rampage that had already injured two.

Brent Campbell of Somerville said claims by his former stepmother, Karen Campbell, that he gave her son, Cheston Jared Campbell, drugs or alcohol prior to the incident were untrue.

"We know where Jared got the drugs from, and that wasn't from here," said Brent Campbell. "Jared never got drunk at my house. Other than what he showed up with, there were no drugs at my house."

(A very long account of a very bloody fight follows)

Labels: AL, domestic dispute

Armed woman holds suspected burglar

A mother who had just dropped off her daughters at school Wednesday morning held a suspected robber at gunpoint after she returned home to find him in her south Mobile driveway, Mobile police said.

Lelia Richardson left her Parkway Drive home at about 7 a.m. to take her two daughters to school, police spokesman Officer Eric Gallichant said Thursday.

When she returned about 50 minutes later, she saw an unfamiliar car under her carport and the door to her home open. The door frame was busted and splintered from where someone had apparently kicked it in, Richardson said.

"That's when I knew exactly what was going on," Richardson said. "I called 911 before I got out of the car and then I got my pistol ... just in case he tried to do something to me."

Richardson pulled into her driveway and blocked in the unknown car and a man she had "never seen before in my life" walked out of her home, she said.

"I saw him coming out of the house, and he walked up toward me to see who I was and that's when it all happened," Richardson said.

Richardson asked the man who he was, and he told her that he lived there, she said.

"I said, 'Not unless you moved in during the last hour,'" Richardson said.

The woman drew her pistol -- "I always carry it for protection," she said -- and told the man not to move until police arrived.

"He told me, 'Please don't shoot,' and he said he was going to put everything he took back in (the house)," Richardson said. "And he did. He put it all back in my den."

Richardson kept her weapon drawn while the man returned her things, she said, and kept her pistol on him until officers arrived and arrested him.

"You just have to be prepared for anything," she said. "I like to make sure if anything happens that I'm able to protect me and my kids."

Richardson said that through the whole ordeal, she was never once scared for her life.

"Because I knew if he came to me, I was going to shoot him," she said. "I didn't want to hurt him. I didn't want to shoot him, but I didn't want him to do anything to me."

Investigators found some stolen property from inside Richardson's home and a small amount of marijuana in the man's car, Gallichant said.

Jedadhai Powell, 20, of Mobile, was charged with third-degree burglary and second-degree marijuana possession, Gallichant said.

Powell was being held Thursday at Mobile County Metro Jail in lieu of $3,500 bail, the jail log showed.

Labels: AL, residence burglary

Burglary halted with a gun

Athens man captures suspect, accidentally shoots window of neighboring cleaners

After two nights of someone breaking into his downtown business and stealing antiques, Steve Bauer armed himself with a plastic cola bottle and a .44 Magnum and spent Wednesday night at his office.

Bauer's son knew his father was staying the night at the office to protect his property.

"My son was leaving his girlfriend's house about midnight and saw all the cop cars," Bauer said. "He said he thought, 'Daddy's done shot somebody.' "

Bauer, 51, put the cola bottle at the back door so it would make a noise when opened. He laid on a cot in a room adjacent to his office, the gun within reach.

His office, Steve Bauer Properties, is a house on North Clinton Street across from Calvin's Cleaners.

"I fell asleep sometime after 11," he said. "I woke up when I heard the bottle fall. I could hear papers shuffling in my office."

Bauer peeked into his office and saw a woman with a flashlight looking through his desk. He asked the woman what she was doing, and the woman called him by name and replied that she was looking for a house to rent.

Bauer buys, sells and rents property.

"I said, 'Ma'am, it's midnight, and you have a flashlight. I don't believe so. I believe you need to lay down on the ground.'"

Bauer called Athens police. While he was on the phone, he heard someone outside. The woman's boyfriend was in a pickup truck.

"I ordered him to get out and put his hands on the truck," Bauer said. "I told him I had a gun and was on the phone with police, but he cranked the truck and took off."

Trying to shoot at tires

Bauer shot at the truck's back tires. A bullet ricocheted off the roadway and hit a window at Calvin's Cleaners.

"I wish I hadn't shot, but it was a spur-of-the-moment thing," Bauer said. "I thought he was going to plumb get away."
Bauer said police responded quickly.

"I've got to thank them for doing an outstanding job," he said. "Floyd Johnson (lieutenant) was the investigator, and he did a good job. I want them all to know I'm thankful."

An officer handcuffed the woman, who remained on the floor, while others searched for the pickup.

"A .44 Magnum's a big gun," Bauer said. "It probably looked like a cannon to her. I think it scared her into staying put."

Capt. Marty Bruce said officer Jay Looney spotted the pickup at Beaty and Pryor streets and tried to stop the driver. The driver refused and drove to his home at 707 Frazier St.

Bruce identified the driver as 46-year-old Daniel Stubbs. Bruce identified Stubbs' girlfriend as Daphne Watkins, 43, of 1205 Seventh Ave.

Police charged Stubbs with felony driving under the influence, possession of a controlled substance for allegedly having four Xanax pills, third-degree burglary, attempting to elude, driving with a suspended license and having an open container.

Stubbs is out of the Limestone County Jail on $8,000 bond.

Police charged Watkins with two counts of third-degree burglary. She is out of jail on $4,000 bond.

Labels: AL, business burglary

Man shot, killed by ex-wife

Local authorities were still investigating Thursday the death of a Welti man, who was allegedly shot four times by his ex-wife, according Sheriff’s reports.

Sheril Dingler, 38, of Welti, allegedly shot her former husband, 38-year-old Rickey A. Dingler, with a .40-caliber Glock late Wednesday at her son’s home.

The shots were allegedly fired after Mr. Dingler reportedly kicked in the front door of the residence, which Mrs. Dingler had fled to during a heated argument with her former husband.

Mr. Dingler died on the scene.

According to Sheriff Tyler Roden, Mrs. Dingler was not arrested or charged for the shooting on the grounds it may have been an act of self defense.

“She was treated for injuries,” he said. “We are still investigating it at this time, and we’ll make a determination later.”

According to reports, while the two were divorced, they lived together at a residence about 200 yards from the scene of the shooting.

Roden said they had been in an argument since Mr. Dingler arrived home late Wednesday evening, and that he had allegedly assaulted his ex-wife with his fists and threatened her during the argument.

When Mrs. Dingler fled the house for her son’s, Mr. Dingler allegedly followed her and assaulted her again with his fists. The shooting occurred at approximately 11 p.m.

As of Thursday, it was not clear who owned the weapon used in the shooting. Roden said it was kept at the residence where the shooting occurred.

It is not known where the bullets struck the victim or what the two were arguing about.

Labels: AL, domestic abuse, home invasion

An Athens man says he felt threatened last night, so he shot another man. But is that considered self defense?

Athens Police received a call around 7:30 Tuesday night that a man had been shot. If happened off South Houston Street. 46 year old Jimmy Ray Wallace had been shot once in the stomach. Wallace was already being treated at Athens Limestone Hospital Emergency Room when police got the call.

Investigators there discovered that Wallace had gone to his estranged wife's and her boyfriend's home. Wallace was there to get a car back. The boyfriend told Wallace to get off the property. Police say Wallace then told the boyfriend he was going to kill him. The boyfriend says he felt his life was threatened and shot Wallace once in the stomach. Now a grand jury must decide if it was self defense or a criminal act.

"Alabama law just recently changed as far as self defense and defending your property." Athens Police Captain Marty Bruce told WAAY 31. "Now, all you have to prove is that you were in fear of your life."

Alabama's new self defense law went into effect last June. Wallace is expected to be okay. No charges have been filed.

Labels: AL, assault

Drive-by shooting suspects shot

An apparently botched drive-by shooting on Old Shocco Road Wednesday morning led to two Talladega residents suffering shotgun wounds before being arrested by Talladega police.

Demetrius Lamar Gooden, 23, 97 Cleve Lane, and Antoine Jamel Freeman, 18, 1822 Old Shocco Road, were each charged with one count of shooting into an occupied building. Gooden was also charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance (crack cocaine) and Freeman was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana in the second degree.

Gooden’s bond was set at $1,500 by Circuit Judge Chad Woodruff. Freeman’s bond was set at $10,500.

According to Police Chief Alan Watson, at about 9:40 a.m. Wednesday, three suspects fired several shots with an automatic handgun into the residence of Dexter Lamar Swain, 27, at 1480 Old Shocco Road, Apartment 7, from a car. Swain’s brother, Maurice Swain, 32, was also in the apartment at the time.

Although neither of the Swain brothers was hit, bullets did damage two walls in the apartment, the front door, a home entertainment center and a 19-inch television set.

One of the Swain brothers returned fire with a 12-gauge shotgun, hitting Gooden in the right leg and Freeman in the right hand. The third suspect was not hit.

The suspects then went to Kelly Park, Watson said.

According to Detective John McCoy, who testified at the initial appearance, the Swains called police and gave them a description and possible destination for the vehicle the suspects fled in.

McCoy found Gooden, Freeman, a male subject and a female subject getting out of the car with shotgun damage and into another vehicle, probably to go to the hospital. Gooden’s drug charge stems from crack cocaine found in a pack of cigarettes at that time. Freeman’s marijuana charge stemmed from a small baggie in plain sight in the back seat of the car, between his feet.

Two pistols were also recovered in the yard of the residence where the suspects were changing cars.

Gooden and Freeman were taken to the emergency room at Citizens Baptist Medical Center, where the former eventually refused treatment and was arrested immediately.

Freeman’s hand wound was treated in the emergency room, and he was placed under arrest as soon as he was discharged, Watson said.

Bond was set at $10,000 each for the shooting into an occupied dwelling charge, $5,000 for Gooden’s drug charge and $500 for Freeman’s marijuana charge. Should they make bond and get out of jail, they will be subject to random drug testing and are barred from carrying firearms of any kind.

Watson said the third suspect is known, and added the Swains had not been charged with anything. The investigation remained ongoing Wednesday afternoon.

Labels: AL, drive-by shooting

Granny's got a gun

Frances Babington, 65, is a pistol-toting grandma, who says she is a "fighting person."

"I'm the type of person ... (that's) not going to let someone take something from me. I decided I wanted to get the better end of the fight," Babington said.

"When I started carrying the gun, I made it a priority to be instructed by the Montgomery Police Department about how and when to use my gun. To my surprise, the officers spent about 75 percent of the course time teaching how to avoid having to use a weapon but did not neglect the shooting aspects.

"Having said that, you would-be criminals take note! The next time you attempt to rob or break and enter into the home of an elderly, gray-haired lady, it might be me. If you enter my home I would consider my life to be in peril and would not hesitate to blow you out of your socks."

Babington said she and her husband Tom, 65, a retired pharmacist, took the gun-safety class together. Tom was robbed twice as he left work, and Babington had a close call of her own when she worked downtown at the old St. Margaret's Hospital.

Babington was headed to her car in the parking lot after work when she noticed a man walking near her. She said she noticed the man turn suddenly about 12 feet away and came up behind her.

"I reached in my purse grabbed the gun and showed it to him," Babington said. "I looked him directly in his eyes. He turned away. It worked. I didn't have to use it, but it worked. If he had attacked me, I would have felt comfortable using it."

The Babingtons have identical blue steel revolvers, and a gold police shield in their window they got from the Police Department that lets people know trained gunmen protect their property.

Frances Babington believes that anyone seeking to bear arms should do it the right way.

"I think that having a class ought to be part of getting a gun permit," she said. "You've got to know what you're doing with it if you're going to carry it."

Labels: AL, concealed carry permit, street robbery

Businessman wounded in attempted robbery, one suspect dies

A Selma businessman was hospitalized and a suspect killed following an attempted robbery over the weekend. Selma police said a second suspect was arrested.

Authorities said it happened Saturday night about 7:30 p-m when two juveniles confronted Nathaniel Gary after he closed his business on Broad Street.

Police said Gary, owner of Doc's Fashions, exchanged gunshots with 18-year-old Michael Walker and 17-year-old Keotha Billingsley. Walker was shot dead.

Billingsley fled the scene, but he was arrested and charged with first-degree robbery.

Police said Gary was shot in the leg and was treated and released. Police said he will NOT face charges.

Billingsley was released on a five-thousand dollar bond and awaits an arraignment hearing.

Labels: AL, business robbery, defender shot

Shootings leave 2 dead, 2 critical

Two men remained hospitalized in critical condition Thursday night after a rash of violence this week left two others dead.

Police have made one arrest, while one of the incidents is being investigated as a case of self-defense.
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Police said Samuel Giles, 36, of the 4000 block of Figtree Drive in Jones, went to pick up his stepdaughter from her boyfriend's house, where the couple were arguing, police said.

Giles told police his stepdaughter called him Wednesday from Robert Bren's house at 546 S. Court St. and asked him to pick her up. Giles said Bren is his stepdaughter's boyfriend.

When Giles arrived at ab