WANTED: Gregory Donald Forsythe from Dothan for Rape and more

Gregory Donald Forsythe, Most recent photograph, taken in 2008, wanted for Rape

Gregory Donald Forsythe, black male, 35 years of age, of Wilder Avenue is WANTED for two counts of First Degree Rape, First Degree Kidnapping and Unlawful Breaking and Entering a Motor Vehicle.

The Dothan Police Department is seeking the help of our local media and community in locating a man wanted for numerous felony charges which include kidnapping and rape. Investigators say three felony warrants have been signed against Gregory Donald Forsythe following an incident which began on September 6, 2011.  Due to the sensitive nature of the case limited details are being released however the investigation into this incident revealed the victim was on a break at her job and walked out to her vehicle where she was forcefully kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend. The victim was held against her will for nearly fourteen hours before being released. Upon her release the victim fled and immediately sought help. The victim was treated and released at a local hospital for injuries moderate injuries incurred during the ordeal. Police have followed several leads over the past two days but have not yet located the suspect. Police are asking anyone with information about the location of the suspect to call the Dothan Police Department or CrimeStoppers 334-793-7000.

Suspects arrested in Opelika after 3-county chase

Dabney

Opelika, Al.

Three men are behind bars at the Lee County Detention Facility after leading police from four law enforcement agencies on a high-speed chase spanning more than 25 miles through two states and three counties Thursday.

William Dabney, 19, Dominique Johnson, 24, and Emmanuel Walker, 20, all of Columbus, Ga., are being held on fugitive from justice warrants after spike strips were deployed to stop the 1993 Chevy Impala Dabney was driving on U.S. Highway 280 in Opelika shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday.

In addition to Columbus police, who initiated Thursday’s pursuit, officers from the Alabama Department of Public Safety, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the Opelika Police Department also responded.

Johnson

The chase, which reached speeds in excess of 85 miles per hour before ending in Opelika, began in Columbus, Ga., after a Columbus Police officer observed the suspects’ vehicle leaving a burglarized home in the 8000 block of Garrett Pines Drive, said CPD Capt. William Turner. The pursuit began when the officer unsuccessfully attempted to stop the vehicle.

Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones said attempts to disable the vehicle were made by using spike strips where Lee roads 379 and 158 intersect U.S. Route 431. The suspects’ vehicle was able to drive around the strips each time.

A successful third deployment of spike strips by state troopers and Lee County sheriff’s deputies just inside the Opelika city limits deflated the vehicle’s tires, and the three suspects were taken into custody without incident, Jones said. A handgun was recovered from the vehicle after the suspects’ arrest, according to Capt. Van Jackson, LCSO chief investigator.

Dabney, Johnson and Walker were the only occupants of the Impala, Turner said.

Walker

“Right now we’re in the process of trying to arrange their extradition back to Columbus,” Turner said. “There was property in the vehicle, but right now we have not been able to verify whether or not it was property taken from the burglarized address.”

Turner says when the three suspects are extradited back to Georgia, they will face burglary charges and a number of traffic violations.

Hoover Mayor Tony Petelos hits sudden stall as choice for Jefferson County manager

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama 

Petelos

Hoover Mayor Tony Petelos' selection as Jefferson County's first professional man­ager appeared in question late Thursday as two county commissioners said they were not prepared to vote next week.
Commissioners Sandra Little Brown and George Bowman said they need more time before the decision is made. Petelos needs a supermajority of votes -- four of the five commissioners -- to become county man­ager.
"I am not prepared to vote Tuesday," Bowman said. "It's too soon, too quick. It's not saying there's anything personal against him. Not at all. I think his credentials are impeccable. But for the county, it's too quick." Brown said she was impressed with Petelos and called him a great selection. However, she said she believes that "bringing a county manager on warrants five solid votes. Right now I don't see them in place. I don't think it would be a wise decision to bring it up on Tuesday. It has nothing to do with Mayor Petelos."
Petelos said he has no problems if commissioners need more time.
"That's fine," he said in a telephone interview Thursday night. "If they need me to answer any more questions I'll be glad to meet with them once again and answer any questions they may have or any concerns they may have."
Commission President David Carrington said he had been unaware that commissioners had concerns about the selection. He said all five commissioners voted to move the matter forward to the full commission during Wednesday's administrative services committee meeting, after Petelos spent nearly an hour answering questions.
Brown and Bowman said they ultimately could vote for Petelos but not next week.
They said the commission has a Sept. 16 deadline to decide whether to file for bankruptcy, reach a settlement with creditors or extend negotiations for a third time. Also, they said, the commission as a body still has not taken up the county's fiscal 2012 budget that contained, at last report, a $41 million shortfall. The fiscal year begins in three weeks.
A decision whether to place Cooper Green Mercy Hospital under a health care authority could also be made this month.
"All of these things need to be thoroughly reviewed," Brown said.
Commissioner Jimmie Stephens said he supports Petelos "100 percent" but can understand if some commissioners need more time to feel comfortable.
"I don't want anyone to think someone is being rammed down their throat," Stephens said. "This is too important a decision. We are trying to build a team and have a consensus. If they need a little bit more time to talk to Tony and feel more comfortable with him, be that as it may."
Commissioner Joe Knight said he also has questions that need to be answered but would be prepared to vote.
"I don't have some information -- the salary, the numbers of assistants," Knight said. "There are a couple of questions I need answered, but I'm ready to vote."
Carrington said he plans to speak with commissioners today, and no one had asked him to remove the matter from the agenda. However, the matter did not appear on the commission agenda for Tuesday that was made available Thursday.
Carrington said not to read too much into that.
Commissioners have taken positions ahead of meetings on some other issues and then changed their minds by the time the meetings took place.
After being told a formal offer would be made at next week's commission meeting, Petelos had said Wednesday he planned to accept an offer to become Jefferson County's first professional manager.
On Wednesday, Petelos said that should he become the county manager, he would step down as Hoover mayor on Sept. 30.

Alabama Congressman Spencer Bachus asks President Obama to bar FEMA from destroying safe shelters

U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus

U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus has asked the president to suspend a "seriously misguided" FEMA policy that could require new storm shelters being installed at tornado-damaged schools to be torn down once students are no longer in portable classrooms.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is paying 75 percent of the cost to install the new, temporary shelters, will pay for their demolition if school systems can't or won't buy or sell them at a fair-market price.
"This policy is, by any objective standard, short-sighted and indefensible," Bachus wrote to President Barack Obama on Wednesday. "It is yet another example of why the American people continue to lose confidence in the government and its ability to make choices in their best interest."
Bachus, R-Vestavia Hills, said he also plans to introduce legislation to prohibit the demolition of the new shelters at four schools in DeKalb, Marion, Franklin and Tuscaloosa counties.
The combined price for the new shelters is about $1.5 million. Under a new policy established as a result of the Alabama tornadoes, FEMA agreed to pay most of the expense for the shelters, but only to protect students in temporary classrooms while their school buildings are rebuilt or repaired.
Under FEMA rules, when students are no longer in portable units, the school systems can keep the shelters only by paying FEMA a fair price for them, an expense most of the systems said they cannot afford. The schools also could sell the shelters at market rates and give the money to FEMA. Otherwise, in the option that most outraged Bachus, FEMA will simply pay to have the shelters torn down.
"The congressman, as soon as he heard about this, said this was one of the craziest things he's ever heard," said Michael Staley, Bachus' chief of staff. "It's boneheaded that the federal government would spend tax dollars to tear down life-saving shelters."
The White House steered calls about the issue to FEMA and, as of Thursday, had not responded to Bachus, Staley said.
FEMA spokesman Rachel Racusen said in a written statement Thursday: "We take the concerns raised by the superintendents and other officials seriously and are working with the state, schools and local communities to look at all alternatives for removal or re-use of the safe rooms once the schools are reconstructed. The intent of federal funding for temporary safe rooms is to ensure that students and staff are safer while local leaders rebuild."
In a Birmingham News story on Saturday, superintendents in DeKalb, Franklin and Marion counties criticized the FEMA policy. DeKalb County Superintendent Charles Warren was particularly frustrated, saying he would have little choice except to tear down a new, 3,000-square-foot shelter that his Plainview School students would continue to need.
In the other affected communities, new schools are being constructed and will have built-in safe rooms. But Plainview is simply being repaired, and there is no requirement and no insurance money to add a safe room, Warren said. He would like to keep the new storm shelter for use by his students during the day and by the community after school hours.
Bachus' letter to Obama cited the superintendents' comments in that story, including Warren's complaint that the policy "stinks" and is "not a wise use of taxpayer dollars." Bachus agreed with the assessment.
"It makes no sense to demolish perfectly good storm shelters just to satisfy a misguided bureaucratic requirement," Bachus said in a statement. "School administrators who find themselves caught in a classic government Catch-22 are rightly upset."
Of the four systems affected, only the city of Tuscaloosa said it anticipated buying the prefab shelter being installed at Tuscaloosa Magnet School for Alberta Elementary students who are meeting in mobile facilities on the campus. Marion County said it was unsure what it would do with the shelter being built for Hackleburg students. Franklin County said it probably would sell the four shelters being installed at Phil Campbell High School, and DeKalb County said its only option appeared to be demolition.

Evergreen officer allegedly involved in inmate tasing placed on leave

EVERGREEN, Alabama 
Officials placed a veteran Evergreen police officer on paid leave Thursday as the mayor issued a recommendation he be fired, citing "complaints of unprofessional and harassing conduct."
Evergreen City Attorney Richard Hartley, speaking on behalf of Mayor Pete Wolff III, said Officer Sean Klaetsch was placed on administrative leave following complaints from "several citizens."
Klaetsch was identified by Phyllis Powell as the officer involved Aug. 19 when Powell’s 33-year-old daughter was tased while restrained in a chair.
Video images that Powell said were provided to her by the Conecuh County Sheriff’s Office were posted online this week. Powell referred the Press-Register to her social media page, where two segments of the video were posted. The recordings do not include images of tasing, but show a female officer taking Crystal Skinner Coleman — the sister of Councilman John Skinner — from a cell in the jail. Video of the officer and two unidentified women shows the three inside the jail smiling, gesturing and laughing. Powell said the video followed the tasing incident.
Attempts to contact Klaetsch were unsuccessful Thursday.
Hartley said Klaetsch would remain on leave until the council held a hearing on the mayor’s recommendation. The attorney said Klaetsch has until Monday to request a hearing to appeal the recommendation, and should he exercise that right, the hearing would be set for Sept. 23. If he does not ask for a hearing, the council can vote at its next meeting.
Powell said Thursday she was thankful for officials’ attention to the incident, and glad the investigation is under way.

'Victim' of alleged hostage situation arrested

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama 
Huntsville police responded to an apartment in the 400 block of Webster Street about 7 p.m. Thursday after a woman called 9-1-1 to say she was being held against her will by her boyfriend who had a gun, police said
Police surrounded the apartment and closed Washington Street from just south of Webster Street to Abbington as they attempted to deal with the "standoff".
After police made contact with the man it was determined that the woman was making the calls from her own apartment nearby because she was mad at her boyfriend, polcie said.
Police arrested the woman for making a false 9-1-1 call and making a false police report, police said.

Decatur police arrest man on assault charges after a fight with his girlfriend's ex

Steven Ray Cockrell

DECATUR, Alabama 
Decatur police arrested a man Thursday after he allegedly attacked his girlfriend's ex, police said.
Around 10:30 p.m., Steven Ray Cockrell learned his girlfriend was at the home of Armando Dequesada, her ex boyfriend, police said. Cockrell showed up at the home, located on Fifth Avenue, and tried to force his way inside, police said.
According to the report, when Dequesada opened the door, Cockrell was armed with a knife. Police said Cockrell attacked Dequesada, cutting him and hitting him.
Cockrell fled the home with his girlfriend, and Dequesada called police. Cockrell was arrested not far from the home and charged with first-degree burglary and second-degree assault. He's being held in the Morgan County Jail on a $12,500 bond. Police said Dequesada did not need treatment for his injuries.