2 Mobile area men arrested for illegal nighttime oyster harvesting

MOBILE, Al.
State conservation enforcement officers arrested two men early Fri. morning on numerous charges ranging from drug possession to the illegal harvest of thousands of pounds of oysters.

Allen Liddle Lee                      Michael Donald Sowa

Michael Donald Sowa, 39, of Bayou La Batre, and Allen Liddle Lee, 32, of Mobile, were booked into Mobile County Metro Jail and had been released on bail by noon.
The men were caught at 3:45 a.m. yesterday, said Capt. Bo Willis, who along with other Alabama Marine Resources Division officers had been investigating complaints from others in the fishing industry about illegal harvesting of oysters at night. Oyster season is also closed.
Willis said officers watched the men launch a boat into Fowl River at 9:30 Thursday night, then attempted to follow them upon their return at about 3:30 Friday morning.
Willis said the men were allowed to return to the launch so they couldn’t dump any illegally harvested oysters back into the water before being apprehended, and also in hopes they’d lead officers to the processing shop where the men were believed to be selling them.
When the men left in Sowa’s truck without turning on the headlights, Willis said officers in pursuit lost them.
He said earlier phases of the investigation had already established Lee’s involvement, so other officers went to his house off Bellingrath Road and found the men there. From Lee’s boat they retrieved 21 full sacks of oysters totaling 2,100 pounds. Under Alabama’s definition of a legal sack of oysters, Willis said those amounts actually translate into about 31 sacks.
The oysters had been tonged from a reef located about halfway between the mouth of East Fowl River and the Relay Reef, Willis said.
The men face various conservation charges, including oystering without a license, over the limit, improperly sacked oysters, transporting oysters at night, improperly identified oysters and failure to tag oysters prior to landing.
Lee was charged with five conservation violations in addition to possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to jail records.
Lee was booked into Metro Jail at 7:02 a.m. Friday and released at 11:31 a.m., with a combined bail set at $4,500, records showed.
Sowa was charged with seven conservation charges in addition to possession of a controlled substance, according to jail records.
Sowa was booked into Metro Jail at 6:37 a.m. and released at 10:19 a.m., with a combined bail set at $4,600, records showed.
While talking to Lee and Sowa, Willis said the men indicated they were considering shucking the oysters themselves, then trying to sell them at a higher price than they would get if selling them whole.
Willis said authorities believe the men have participated in other illegal harvests.
“There were others involved at other times, but Lee seems to be the common denominator because it’s his boat,” Willis said.
Potential damage

Oystermen were getting about 35 cents a pound for whole oysters tonged during the last regulated harvest from the Relay Reef in 2011. On the open market, shucked oysters can sell for $50 to $70 a gallon, depending on each oyster’s yield and where it came from, according to Marine Resources Division Enforcement Chief Maj. Scott Bannon.
If Lee and Sowa had been successful in their plan, Bannon said a far-reaching problem could have been set off for the entire Gulf of Mexico oyster industry.
“The backyard opener is detrimental to the entire industry along the Gulf Coast, due to the health risks associated with not handling the product properly,” Bannon said. “These oysters that are processed illegally, mishandled and misidentified could get on the open market. If people start getting sick, then you could have the wrong state looked at and getting penalized. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) could not only shut down Alabama, but they actually could shut down the entire Gulf Coast.”
As an example, Bannon cited a case several years ago in which the Mississippi oyster industry was shut down after a person died after eating oysters shipped to a New York restaurant.
He said that even though it was eventually determined that the oysters had not caused the person’s death, the closure resulted in a multimillion-dollar loss to the state’s oyster industry.
Willis said one of the oyster-filled sacks found on the boat actually had a Louisiana tag on it.
Alabama Marine Resources Director Chris Blankenship said he was angry to think that local oystermen could have been crippled by the men’s actions. He added that great strides have been made over the past few years by those in the industry working with Marine Resources to revive the state’s ailing oyster reefs and increase annual regulated harvests.
“I’m glad these guys were caught, because it’s not fair to the guys out there helping to create a viable reef system to support the industry again in Alabama,” Blankenship said. “We’re working with the FDA now to reclassify an area from restricted to open near where these oysters were taken. If oysters taken illegally here make it onto the market and people start getting sick, it could be devastating to the oyster industry in Alabama.”
Conservation officers deposited the oysters back onto the reefs, Willis said.
“The investigation into additional complaints of illegal harvesting and the processing shops buying these oysters is continuing,” Willis said.

Pilot found dead inside crashed plane in Etowah County

ETOWAH COUNTY, Al.
The body of a pilot was found inside an airplane that crashed last night after taking off from the Northeast Alabama Regional Airport, according to Etoawh County Coroner Michael Gladden.
Authorities are securing the scene until officials with the National Transportation Safety Board arrive this morning, Gladden said last tonight.
The crash happened about 7 p.m., Fri night said airport supervisor Jason Tomik.
Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Arlene Salac said no one else was on board.

The plane -- an L-39 Albatros -- was headed to North Carolina from the Gadsden airport, Gladden said. The crash happened about two miles southwest of the airport.

The plane was registered to Fighter Town USA, LLC out of Greensboro, North Carolina, according to FAA records.

Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor's cousin arrested for committing sexual battery on a passed out LSU fan

 New Orleans, La.

The Alabama football fan accused of committing sexual battery on a passed out LSU fan, seen in a now-infamous video, was arrested and charged with one count of sexual battery and one count of obscenity late Thursday night by the New Orleans Police Department.

Brian Downing

Brian Downing, 32, a Smiths Station resident who once lived in Phenix City, turned himself in to the New Orleans Police Department and was released at 11:46 a.m., Friday morning after a first appearance hearing in Magistrate Court.

New Orleans Police Department Public Information Officer Frank Robertson said Downing was held in an Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office jail.

NOPD sex crimes detectives met Downing Thursday night after obtaining a warrant for his arrest earlier that day. Downing brought himself before Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor, his cousin, earlier Thursday. He then commuted, on his own will according to Taylor, to New Orleans for questioning.

Downing was identified in media reports as the fan seen in an amateur video rubbing his genitals on the neck of an LSU fan, a crude gesture referred to as “tea-bagging” inside the Krystal restaurant on Bourbon Street. The LSU fan, who is not identified and has not come forth, was passed out.

According to a release from New Orleans police, detectives were first alerted to the videotape on Sunday and started a preliminary investigation. The video surfaced on a number of websites.

“Through further investigation, including the collection of more evidence and information with the assistance of LSU and Alabama University campus police, New Orleans detectives were able to secure a warrant for Downing’s arrest,” the release said.

Taylor noted, “It’s not legal to put your genitals on somebody else. Certainly, there are problems here. He shouldn’t have done it, period.”

Lead prosecutor in bingo gambling case quits just days before retrial to start

MONTGOMERY, Al.
The departure of the lead prosecutor in Alabama's gambling corruption case has left the prosecution team having to shift duties less than two weeks before jury selection begins for the retrial.

Justin Shur's resignation as deputy chief of the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section to join a Washington law firm, MoloLamken, was approved by the trial judge Thursday.
The retrial of seven defendants starts Jan. 30 in Montgomery. Justice Department spokeswoman Laura Sweeney declined comment Thursday about who will be the lead prosecutor, but defense attorneys said it appears Kendall Day, another Justice Department attorney, is taking over the job.
He would make the third chief prosecutor since the case began with indictments in October 2010 against casino owner Milton McGregor, four present and former state senators, and several others on charges accusing them of swapping campaign contributions for votes on pro-gambling legislation.
McGregor's attorney, Joe Espy, said Shur's withdrawal came as a surprise because Shur was active in the preparations for the retrial until a few days ago. He said the withdrawal coincides with McGregor's side filing court papers accusing the prosecution of withholding some information in the first trial that would have been beneficial to their client.
Two assistant U.S. attorneys who helped in the original trial left the prosecution team earlier. Espy said shaking up a legal team before a retrial puts that side at a disadvantage because of the extra time needed to prepare.
The Justice Department declined to respond.
The first trial ended in August with two defendants acquitted, and the jury unable to resolve all the charges against the other seven defendants, including McGregor. No one was convicted.
One of those acquitted, Democratic state Sen. Quinton Ross of Montgomery, said he was glad to see Shur go.
"After 138 counts, nine defendants — two of which were acquitted — two months, and millions of dollars, the federal prosecutors failed to get a single conviction and the case is still under the cloud of prosecutorial misconduct. How long are they going to spend taxpayer's money to rob us of the justice that money is supposed to provide?" he said.
One casino owner and two of his lobbyists pleaded guilty to government corruption charges before the original trial.

Would-be victim grabs suspect's gun and beats him with it, ending robbery spree

MOBILE, Al 
A delivery truck driver snatched a shotgun from a would-be robber and and beat him with it Thur. morning, helping to end the suspect’s 2-day robbery spree, Mobile police said.

Chauncey Philan

Chauncey Lamar Philan, 19, was taken to Mobile County Metro Jail early Thursday evening and charged with 3 counts of 1st-degree robbery, police spokesman Cpl. Christopher Levy.
Chickasaw police spokesman Lt. Brad Penton said that Philan was to be charged again with 1st-degree robbery in connection with a robbery Wednesday morning in that city.
Levy said that Philan approached a delivery truck driver at the Food World on Dauphin Island Parkway around dawn Thursday and pointed a shotgun at the intended victim, demanding money.
But the driver grabbed the shotgun and beat the robber several times with it, Levy said, and the robber ran off. Police located Philan not long afterward, Levy said.
Levy said that the shotgun was recovered.
The Food World incident followed a day in which Philan committed 2 other robberies in Mobile, Levy said.
Philan is also charged in connection with the robbery of an individual at the Walmart on the I-65 service road in Mobile at 2:10 a.m. Wednesday and the Checkers at 2300 St. Stephens Road at 3:15 a.m.
Penton said the robbery Philan is accused of in Chickasaw took place shortly after 4 a.m. Wednesday when a tractor-trailer driver for Southern Ionics was making a delivery at the company plant in the Port of Chickasaw.
Penton said that the driver noticed being followed by a Cadillac after making an earlier delivery in Satsuma, and when he pulled up to the gate, the men pulled alongside. One of them asked for directions to Bay Minette, Penton said.
When the men asked the driver to write the directions down, one of them came out of the car with a shotgun and demanded the driver’s wallet.
The driver dropped the wallet getting it out of his pocket, and he told the robbers to pick it up themselves. When the man with the shotgun did, he pulled money and the driver’s health card out, then threw the wallet back, Penton said.
Penton added that a Prichard truck driver on the same morning reported 2 men in a car asking him for directions to Dauphin Island, but the trucker drove off when he noticed a shotgun inside the car.
Levy said that Philan was also being investigated in connection with other recent robberies.

Mobile County Commission considers employee healthcare clinic to reduce costs

MOBILE, Al.
The Mobile County Commission is considering creating its own clinic for employees in order to reduce its healthcare costs.
All employees, retirees and their adult dependents would have access to the clinic for primary care visits at no cost.
The county would retrofit its Michael Square property off of Azalea Road in west Mobile at a cost of about $200,000 and pay Infirmary Health Medical Clinics PC, an arm of Mobile-based Infirmary Health, about $640,000 annually to staff and run the operation.
The County Commission is set to vote on a contract with Mobile Infirmary on Monday.
"This is truly a win-win for the county, the taxpayers in the county and for county employees," County Administrator John Pafenbach told the commissioners during their Thursday work session.
County officials said that the clinic could pay for itself in the first year and help control costs even more in the long term.
The county, which self-insures its 1,500 employees, expects to pay about $15 million in claims this year, said Donna Jones, director of general services. And costs keep going up, increasing at an average of about 6 percent every year, she said.
According to the county, it costs about $133 every time that an employee or employee's dependent visits a family doctor. Less the employee's $30 co-pay, that leaves the county with a bill of about $103.
In 2010, there were about 16,650 visits by the county's insured employees and their dependents.
The clinic concept isn't simply about reducing costs, according to the county. It could also help encourage employees to practice preventive care.
Many of the county's employees are older and earn relatively low wages, so a $30 co-pay might dissuade someone from going to the doctor when he or she is sick.
A skipped visit might save the county $100 in the short term, but if the illness progresses or becomes chronic, the county could end up spending many times that amount later for emergency room visits or inpatient care at a hospital.
Chronic diseases are especially costly.
In 2011, 11 claims cost the county about $2 million, said Jones. She said that half of that cost was associated with treating employees or dependents that have kidney failure, a common complication of poorly managed diabetes or high blood pressure.
The county buys reinsurance to handle such catastrophic medical costs, but such policies can be expensive.
The clinic will also run a wellness program, a form of preventive care that emphasizes healthy lifestyle choices.
Such clinics, often known as "workplace clinics", are becoming popular in both the public and private sector as a means of reining in health costs, according to the Center for Studying Healthcare Change, a Washington, D.C., think-tank.
Companies that run workplace clinics often tout returns on investment as high as 7 to 1, according to a 2010 study published by the center. However, returns of 2 to 1 are more common, according to one consultant quoted in the study.
Mobile County officials said that they decided to try the clinic after talking with their counterparts in Montgomery County, who reported saving $1.3 million over three years with a similar program.

Boaz man caught making meth by deputies there to serve drug warrants

BOAZ, Al.

Edward Holmes Dover

DeKalb County deputies arrested a man this week for manufacturing methamphetamine after deputies found a meth lab while at a home to serve a warrant on earlier drug charges.

At about 7 p.m. Tuesday, deputies went to the DeKalb County Road 405 home of Edward Holmes Dover, 29, and saw Dover in a shed behind the home, according to a news release. When he saw the deputies, Dover ran behind the shed and hid underneath it.

The deputies arrested Dover on warrants issued by a grand jury in January for manufacturing and possession of a controlled substance, then called the drug task force, which found three "one-pot" meth labs in and around the shed, according to the news release.

He was also charged with another count of manufacturing a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Dover is being held in the DeKalb County Detention Center on $70,500 total bond.

Lowe's Robbed, Police ask for your help!

Dothan, Al.

On January 16, 2012 the Dothan Police Department responded to a strong armed robbery at Lowe's, 2671 Ross Clark Circle. Upon arrival, police learned security members witnessed a white male and a white female take a drill out of the packaging and put it in the female's purse. The suspects also concealed a knife in the male's pocket. When security members confronted the subjects, the male punched the employee in the face and then pulled the knife on him. The employee then backed away from the suspects who then fled. Employees stated a white two door Mitsubishi left the parking lot just after the incident and may have been the suspect’s vehicle; however employees could not see the vehicle’s occupants and say it may not necessarily be involved.

Police are asking anyone with information about the case or identity of the suspects to call the Dothan Police Department or CrimeStoppers 334-793-7000.

UPDATED:Enterprise woman ARRESTED for First Degree Theft by Deception.

 Felicia Mathews, black female, 29 years of age, of Enterprise, Alabama has now been  arrested for First Degree Theft by Deception
 

Felicia Mathews

The Dothan Police Department was recently contacted by a local car dealer regarding theft by deception. Employees of Armstrong and Lamb Auto Sales told police Felicia Mathews entered into a contract with them in October 2011. Mathews agreed to purchase a 2002 Ford Explorer and left with the vehicle after making a small down payment. Employees said they have had no further contact from Mathews who has made no payments and has taken measures to hide the vehicle to avoid repossession. Investigators have signed a warrant against Mathews and are asking anyone with information about the case or whereabouts of the suspect to call the Dothan Police Department or CrimeStoppers 334-793-7000.

Two men arrested for Second Degree Assault on Dothan man

 Dothan, Al.

Jeremy Shanta Jones

Jeremy Shanta Jones, black male, 24 years of age, of Naomi Drive and Brandon Layfatte Jones, black male, 21 years of age, of West Powell Street were arrested and each charged with Second Degree Assault with a $15,000 bond.
 

Brandon Layfatte Jones

On January 11, 2012 the Dothan Police Department responded to an assault in the 800 block of Walnut Street. Upon arrival, police learned the victim was visiting a friend when he was confronted by Jeremy Jones and Brandon Jones. Jeremy Jones told the victim that his cousin owed him money and then began assaulting him. Both Jeremy and Brandon struck the victim multiple times with a gun and fists. The suspects then fled from the scene and the victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment of moderate injuries. Dothan Police have been searching for the suspects over the past week and say both suspects are now in custody.