Dothan Police Department make numerous arrests in series of burglaries at Houston Academy School

Dothan, Al.

The Dothan Police Department has made numerous arrests over the past two weeks while investigating a series of burglaries at Houston Academy School. The investigation has resulted in five individuals being charged with a combined total of thirteen felony counts bringing this extensive case to a close. Investigators say burglaries were committed at the school on February 10^th, 17^th and 28^th, 2012. During this same two week period, credit cards stolen during the burglaries were used at numerous Dothan convenience stores for purchases of gasoline and snacks. Individuals conspiring to commit this extensive series of crimes have now been arrested and charged with the incidents in which they were involved. 

·        Dustin Nicholas Holland, white male, 18 years of age, of Monterey Court was arrested and charged with three counts of Third Degree Burglary and two counts of Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card with bonds totaling $25,000.

·        Alan Reid Parker Junior, white male, 18 years of age, of Prattville, Alabama was arrested and charged with two counts of Third Degree Burglary and Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card with bonds totaling $15,000.

·        Alexa Michelle Wicher, white female, 18 years of age, of Sioux Street was arrested and charged with Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card with a $2,500.

·        Trevor Dewayne Parrish, white male, 20 years of age, of Anna Lee Drive was arrested and charged with two counts of Third Degree Burglary with bonds totaling $10,000.

·        Lauren Davis, white female, 18 years of age, of Tacoma Street was arrested and charged with two counts of Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card with bonds totaling $10,000.

Oak Mountain State Park to host Cross Triathlon World Championship

PELHAM, Al.
 Oak Mountain State Park in May will be the host site for an event that's expected to bring more than 450 world-class athletes to Pelham.

Casey Fannin, will race for Team USA

Many of them will compete May 19 in the 2012 International Triathlon Union's Cross Triathlon World Championship, which is being held in the United States for the first time. ITU's inaugural Cross Tri World Championship was held last year in Extremadura, Spain.
More than 200 of the participants this year are expected to be from other countries, said Chris Hershey, an event planner for Shelby County.
The world championship, which involves a 1½ km swim, 30 km mountain bike ride and 10 km trail run, will be held in conjunction with the seventh annual XTERRA Southeast Championship race on the same day.
"It's a true world championship weekend that will bring athletes from over 25 countries and 40 states to Alabama," Pelham Mayor Don Murphy said. "It's going to be a big weekend for this area. We're just overjoyed to have them to come to our city."
The group organizing the weekend -- TEAM Unlimited/XTERRA -- said Oak Mountain is the perfect venue for the event, where competitors will swim, bike and run among the winding trails.
"Oak Mountain State Park is amazing," said Conrad Stoltz, a four-time XTERRA world champion from South Africa. "It's a true XTERRA course with a nice warm water swim in a beautiful lake, a real mountain biker's course with climbing, technical sections, and fun corners, and a tough but scenic run. This course is fully worthy of hosting a big international field of off-road athletes."

 

Hershey said it will cost $19,000 to hold the event. The city of Pelham has pledged $5,000, and the city of Hoover has pledged $3,000, while the Alabama Department of Tourism is giving $2,500 toward the event, he said. Shelby County will make up the difference, he said. Pelham and Oak Mountain State Park partnered with the Birmingham Urban Mountain Pedalers to finish the trail course.
The competition is expected to be an economic boost to area cities as athletes stay in hotels, eat at restaurants and shop at malls.
"It's a win-win situation for everyone," Hershey said. "Events like this can only benefit the park and the area as a whole."
Murphy said the local economic impact is expected to be more than $500,000.
Trey Garman, TEAM Unlimited/XTERRA vice president, said athletes from the different countries will wear their team colors as they compete in the championship. Among the countries expected to be represented are South Africa, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Canada, Mexico, Japan, New Zealand, Kyrgyzstan, Canada, Brazil, Chile, Portugal and Austria.
"It's a really big deal," Garman said. "When we thought about destinations to host such an event, Oak Mountain is hands down our best course. Oak Mountain has received a lot of accolades for being world-class."
Double Oak Trail at Oak Mountain State Park is part of "The Crown Jewels" in The Trail, a special trail-running publication put out by Runner's World magazine.
"To have this in Pelham and the United States is huge," said Casey Fannin, a two-time XTERRA world champion from Hoover.
Murphy said he hopes the international competition will become an annual event at Oak Mountain.

Concert planned to help fund National Night Out 2012

Dothan, Al.

The Dothan Police Department is excited to announce that planning for the 2012 National Night Out is underway! Last year, the citizen’s of Dothan joined in this national effort to promote police-community partnerships, crime prevention and neighborhood camaraderie. The Dothan Police Department was recently notified by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW) and congratulated for an award we were awarded for outstanding participation in the 28^th Annual National Night Out. This year we have plans to make our event even BIGGER and BETTER!

For National Night Out 2012, The Dothan Police Department will once again join forces with other local law enforcement agencies to promote crime and drug prevention throughout the City of Dothan/Houston County. A sneak peak at this years agenda shows that in addition to the National Night Out event, the Dothan Police Department will once again host neighborhood cookouts. The newest addition for 2012 is an early bird event we have added to this year’s venue. We have planned a great night of entertainment for the whole family in June to bring awareness and funding to our event.

We are excited to announce our newest event; The Nelons, Live in Concert June 15, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. at the Dothan Civic Center! Tickets are $10 and are now on sale at the Dothan Civic Center Box Office. All proceeds benefit the Dothan Police Department’s National Night Out and Community Watch Programs. The concert will also feature a performance by Dothan Police Departments Apostle. Ticket information is available by calling (334) 615-3175. For more information on the Nelons visit online at www.thenelons.com

Arrest Pending for Fraudulent Use of A Credit/Debit card X’s 10

 Phenix City, Al.

Arrest Pending: Charles Edward Bradley / Christy Nicole Allen
Pending Charges / Warrants: Fraudulent Use of A Credit/Debit card X’s 10

Charles Edward Bradley

Christy Nicole Allen

During an investigation this week, Christy Nicole Allen and Charles Edward Bradley are suspected in the thefts and usages of numerous credit cards. These credit cards were also stolen from the victim’s mailboxes. Both subjects have ten outstanding warrants each for Fraudulent Use of A Credit/Debit Card (Felony). Also, both Allen and Bradley have two additional counts of Forgery 2nd degree involving checks that were stolen out of a victim’s residential mailbox. Currently, both Christy Nicole Allen and Charles Edward Bradley are incarcerated in other jurisdictions and will be extradited back to Phenix City as soon as possible.

Traffic stop leads to Narcotics Arrest

Dothan, Al.
Jonathan Wise, white male, 30 years of age, of Naomi Drive was arrested and charged with Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance with a $15,000 bond.
 

Jonathan Wise

On March 10, 2012 the Dothan Police Department made a felony narcotics arrest following a routine traffic sop. While on routine patrol, a Dothan police officer conducted a traffic stop on a car for a violation.  During the course of the stop, the officer asked the passenger to exit the vehicle and asked him to sit on the bumper of the car. As he did a clear plastic baggie holding methamphetamine fell from his pants leg. The passenger, Jonathan Wise was arrested a charged with Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance.

Geneva man wanted for Theft of Property

Dothan, Al.
Michael David Byrd, white male, 55 years of age, of Geneva, Alabama is WANTED for First Degree Theft of Property.
 

Michael Byrd

The Dothan Police Department is seeking the help of our local community and media in locating a man wanted for theft. On March 2, 2012 the Dothan Police Department responded to Grace Harvest Church, 475 West Main Street, after receiving a call that two vehicles had been stolen. Police learned a car and pickup truck were taken from the business and church staff provided surveillance video which identified the suspect. The next day police located the car, a Lincoln Town Car, unoccupied at a downtown business. Surveillance video from the business showed the same suspect previously identified as the one driving the car. Investigators say they have signed a warrant against the suspect, Michael Byrd and say police continue to search for the stolen pickup, a Chevrolet 1500. Police are asking anyone with information about the case or location of the suspect or stolen truck to call the Dothan Police Department or CrimeStoppers 334-793-7000.

High turnout expected Tuesday for Alabama presidential primary

MONTGOMERY, Al.
 Alabama's chief election official estimates turnout for Tuesday's primary election will be high but will fall short of the record set four years ago, when Alabama had one of the best turnouts in the country.

Secretary of State Beth Chapman is forecasting 28.9 percent of the voters will participate in the election. She said the Republican presidential candidates' emphasis on Alabama, including speeches in Birmingham on Monday evening by Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, should ensure a good turnout.
In the 2008 presidential primary, Alabama turned out 1.09 million voters, or 42.6 percent of those registered. It eclipsed the old mark of 29 percent in 1992.
A report from the Center for the Study of the American Electorate at American University said Alabama was one of 22 states that set turnout records for presidential primaries in 2008. Director Curtis Gans said Friday that no state has set a turnout record during this year's primary season.
One reason is that both the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations were contested in 2008. It's only the Republican side this time. That means college-aged voters who turned out in unusually high numbers in 2008 primaries to support Barack Obama won't have the same motivation to show up this time, he said.
The center computes turnout based on the voting-age population, rather than on registered voters. That eliminates variations between states that do a good job of purging the names of dead and relocated voters from their rolls and states that don't. Based on the center's figures, Alabama's turnout of voting-age residents in 2008 was 32.1 percent, which broke the old record of 21.3 percent set in 1988.
Either way the turnout is computed, no one expects a record Tuesday. But interest has picked up in Alabama's Republican primary — as well as Mississippi's on the same day — since the Super Tuesday primaries. That's because Gingrich staked his future on the two Deep South states and Santorum decided to use them to try to narrow the field of candidates.
"If he's successful in Alabama and Mississippi, he will knock Gingrich out of the box," Gans said.
Gingrich has been on the offensive, spending four days in the state since Super Tuesday.
Two Alabama polls that came out Friday show Gingrich and Mitt Romney - who was also in the state in recent days -- fighting for the top spot, with Santorum a close third.
Tom Vocino, director of the Center for Leadership and Public Policy at Alabama State University, said polling indicates that Gingrich and Santorum are competing for the same voters in Alabama. When one goes up in the polls, the other drops, he said.
For the first time, Alabama's state primary has been moved up from June to coincide with the presidential primary. The Legislature did that to save $3 million during the state's budget crunch. But it means races for state and county offices will appear on the ballot after the presidential primary candidates and all their delegates.
Chapman urged voters to study sample ballots before they go to the polls, read the ballot instructions carefully and be sure to flip to the back side of the ballot to avoid missing any state and county races.