Juries to be seated in Jones murder and Smithwick cases

TALLADEGA
Jury selection is expected to begin today in the case of Josetta Burns, 41, who is accused of murdering her husband in Alpine in 2008.

Burns is accused of fatally shooting her husband, Reginald Jones, at the couple’s home on Plant Road in Alpine July 21, 2008. The case will be heard by Talladega County Circuit Judge Bo Hollingsworth. Robert Rumsey is Burns’ defense attorney.

If convicted, Burns faces 20 to 99 years or life in prison.

Across the hall, a second jury will be selected to try to Sylacauga Board of Education member Troy “Skip” Smithwick Jr., who is charged with two counts of failure to file required financial reports during his unsuccessful bid to be elected to the state Board of Education.

Smithwick is charged with filing his annual financial disclosure report with the Secretary of State’s office nine months late, in October rather than in January, when it is due. Smithwick blames the untimeliness of the report on “an honest mistake.”

The second charge involves the failure to report a $100,000 campaign donation from the Real Democratic Action Committee to a group called Smithwick for Schoolboard. Both the PAC and Smithwick (who was running as a Republican), denied any knowledge of the contribution.

The Talladega County District Attorney’s office recused itself from this case, which will be prosecuted by the state Attorney General’s Office. Circuit Judge Julian King will be the judge in the case. Smithwick is being represented by Rod Giddens.

Both charges against Smithwick are Class B misdemeanors, punishable upon conviction by up to six months in the county jail and fines of up to $6,000.

Also in court this month, King sentenced Jason Edward Lightsey, 32, to 36 months, reverse split, 24 months' probation, nine months to serve, and ordered him to pay $92,500 to Imerys U.S.A in Sylacauga. Lightsey had previously pleaded guilty to theft of property in the first degree.

According to Assistant District Attorney Jake Argo, Imerys had brought several newer machine control centers to Sylacauga from a shuttered plant in Georgia and stored them in a warehouse until they could be swapped out with the older models.

Sometime around Oct. 30, Lightsey broke into the warehouse and stripped the copper out of the machines.

A reverse split sentence means that the defendant is allowed to serve a term of probation before reporting back to the court to be sent to prison. If the probationer has behaved himself and complied with all the terms of the probation, the judge can suspend the prison sentence.