Prosecutors want McGregor jailed immediately if convicted

MONTGOMERY, Al.
Prosecutors said they intend to ask that VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor be immediately jailed if a jury convicts him on vote-buying charges, arguing that his wealth would enable him to flee the country.

Milton McGregor

Jurors returned this morning for their third day of deliberations in the trial accusing McGregor and five others of offering or accepting bribes in connection with a 2010 gambling bill. McGregor's lawyer told jurors that there is a "total failure of proof" in the case.
Prosecutors filed notice  Friday that they intend to seek revocation of his conditions of release if the jury should find him guilty.
"McGregor is a substantial flight risk," prosecutors wrote. They filed the notice Friday that they intend to seek revocation of his conditions of release upon the rendering of a guilty verdict against him.
"As the court is aware, McGregor has substantial financial resources as well as access to a private jet. Simply put, his current conditions of release would allow him to board a private jet and be flying toward a country with which the United States has no extradition treaty long before the electronic monitoring to which he is subject would send any alert to the probation office," prosecutors wrote.
McGregor has been required to wear an ankle bracelet since prosecutors claimed that he threatened FBI agents when they arrested him at his Montgomery home.  
An FBI agent testified that McGregor told them that they were making the "biggest mistake of their lives" by arresting him. But a lawyer for McGregor said McGregor did not threaten agents and it was a "mistake" because McGregor is innocent of the charges.
Jurors intend to deliberate for three hours today. The short schedule is because a juror has a funeral to attend.
Prosecutors previously indicated to defense lawyers that they would not seek to have McGregor's bond revoked. The prosecutors said it was a mistake when they did so. "When the United States previously represented to the court that it would not seek to revoke the defendant's conditions of release, it was relying on the mistaken impression from defense counsel that the government had taken that position at the first trial," prosecutors wrote in a foot note in the court filing. The filing was later placed under seal.
Prosecutors said they recently confirmed that no assurances were made "to McGregor or any
defendant that it would not seek to revoke the conditions of release upon issuance of a guilty verdict."

Mobile Police Officer Chad Wynne shot at Midtown Winn-Dixie, in critical condition

MOBILE, Al.
 A Mobile police officer was shot and critically wounded during a robbery at the Midtown Winn-Dixie last night.

Officer Chad Wynne

Officer Chad Wynne was shot in the chest and is undergoing a second surgery at University of South Alabama Medical Center, according to Mobile Police Chief Micheal T. Williams.
Wynne is listed in critical condition.
Mobile police initially reported that the officer's last name is Wynn, but later confirmed that the correct spelling is Wynne.
Williams said two suspects entered the store after it had closed and held employees inside the store at gunpoint. One of the employees was able to call 911 and report the robbery.
Wynne was one of several off-duty police officers working jobs in the area who helped on-duty officers respond to the call at 11 p.m., Williams said.
Wynne was shot as he and other officers entered the grocery store, Williams said.
 Wynne graduated from police academy in 2006. He was named Officer of the Month in April 2007 after making 19 felony arrests in one month, including a group of burglars.
He is a graduate of McGill-Toolen Catholic High School and served in the U.S. Army.

One of the suspects was shot in an exchange of gunfire and is in surgery this morning, Williams said. His condition was unknown.
The name of the suspect in surgery will be released once he has been formally charged, Williams said.

Jackieth Harrison

Jackieth Harrison, 18, was arrested and charged with five counts of attempted murder and first-degree robbery.
Court records show no previous adult criminal charges against Harrison.

Williams declined to say what kind of guns the men were armed with, although he did say two guns were recovered from the scene.
City spokeswoman Barbara Drummond said Mayor Sam Jones was at the hospital while Wynn was in surgery early this morning, around 1 a.m.

The recently renovated Winn-Dixie grocery store is located at Catherine and Government streets.
In 2010, the Winn-Dixie grocery chain undertook a $4 million makeover and expansion of the store at Catherine and Government streets, touting the work as a key template for renovations of many of its more than 450 supermarkets.

Winn-Dixie then-Chief Executive Officer Peter Lynch said in October 2010 that the store, with its focus on fresh and local fare, would become "a showplace for the direction Winn-Dixie is taking the company."

Students arrested for terrorist threats to two Bay Minette schools

BAY MINETTE, Al.
Police arrested three students in two separate incidents involving bomb threats made to Bay Minette schools, officers said today.

Jerome Anthony Henry

Jerome Anthony Henry, 18, of Stockton was arrested Thursday and charged with making a terrorist threat in a phone call to the Baldwin County High School office. Police Chief Mike Rowland said Henry borrowed the phone of a 17-year old friend to place the call around 11 a.m.
Rowland said the younger student was also charged because he knew of Henry’s plan to make a bomb threat. Both students were in the school building at the time the call was placed, officials said.
“Following the school’s safety plan, the school was evacuated, teachers and administrators helped search classrooms and school, which is standard procedure,” Rowland said. “If anyone can detect anything out of place, teachers and administrators can.”
Rowland said law enforcement assisted and after sweeping the building and campus, students were returned to class and “placed on lockdown”.
The arrests were made within two hours of the call, Rowland said, and both students face felony criminal charges. Henry was booked at the Baldwin County Corrections Center with a $5,000 bond and the 17-year old juvenile was released to his father. Both students will face an expulsion hearing, school officials said.
A seventh grade student was arrested after a Bay Minette Middle School employee found a letter in a school bathroom Feb. 23 stating that said a bomb was on the campus. At the time of her arrest, the student said she was hoping to get her former boyfriend in trouble, officials said. She has also been suspended and faces an expulsion hearing, school officials said.
In both instances, Baldwin County School System offered a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the threats. Baldwin County Superintendent Dr. Alan Lee praised the police department’s quick response and the students who came forward with information. “When campus disaster has been averted across the country, it has been because students stepped up and reported suspicious activity to administrators and law enforcement,” Lee said.
The superintendent said this type of “criminal behavior will not be tolerated and there is no room in our schools for people who do such.”
He said the bomb threats and arrests come at a time when BCHS has been praised for its work in spearheading the Digital Renaissance in Baldwin County, which has resulted in a drop in discipline referrals. “I’m hearing great things from across the country about the success that students and teachers are achieving at Baldwin County High School,” Lee said. “We will not allow the selfish acts of a few tarnish this school’s great reputation.”

Grand jury hears evidence in Daniel M. Acker Jr. cases

COLUMBIANA, Al.
A Shelby County grand jury this week heard evidence in the cases of Daniel M. Acker Jr., a retired Alabaster school teacher facing six counts of child sexual abuse.

Daniel M. Acker Jr.

Orders filed Friday in Shelby County Circuit Court show that Acker waived his right to a preliminary hearing and all six of his cases were transferred to the grand jury. If indictments were returned, they would be made public once they were processed through the circuit clerk's office and served by the Shelby County Sheriff's Office.
Acker is in the Shelby County Jail on a $745,000 bond, where he has been since his arrest on Jan. 4.

Former Argo Court Clerk indicted on theft charges, ethics law violation

ARGO, Al.
A former court clerk for the town of Argo has been indicted on felony theft charges and an ethics law violation, Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange announced today.
Myrtle Norton, 75, of Odenville surrendered to the St. Clair County Sheriff's Office on Thursday and was released on $5,000 bond.
Strange's office presented evidence to a St. Clair County grand jury on Feb. 28, resulting in Norton's indictment.
The indictment charges Norton with two counts of theft of checks or currency that were the property of the town of Argo. Each of these two counts involved the theft of more than $2,500.
Norton was also indicted on one count of violating ethics law by intentionally using her official position as a public employee "for the unlawful personal gain of currency or checks," a news statement read.
If convicted, Norton faces two to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $30,000 for each of the three charges.
Norton was also a former town clerk in Margaret and Argo.

300 inmates in temporary housing at Limestone prison after tornado

CAPSHAW, Al.
Three hundred inmates are in temporary housing at Limestone Correctional Facility as the state prison recovers from a direct tornado hit Friday morning.

A training facility at Limestone Correctional Facility

No inmates escaped, and no serious injuries were reported, although inmates and employees were treated for minor injuries caused by flying debris. Windows were blown out in the prison and in cars in the parking lot, and two cell blocks were damaged.
The tornado hit the sprawling facility in east Limestone County around 9:30 a.m. knocking out electrical power. The prison was operating on emergency generators late Friday as damage assessment continued.
The storm knocked down sections of both the inner and outer fences surrounding the prison core. Two cell blocks had roof damage, and damage was also reported to the prison canteen, the K9 kennel and a training facility. One bloodhound was missing.
Additional security, including the state prison riot squad, was sent to the facility, but there were no reports of discipline problems. Some extra security was expected to remain at the prison for the immediate future.
A steady stream of inmate family members approached the gatehouse Friday morning to check on their loved ones. The prison canceled normal Saturday and Sunday visitation.
A prison guard told The Huntsville Times he watched the storm approach from the southwest and called the main office to issue a warning.
Limestone is a maximum security prison housing about 2,300 inmates.

Robbery Suspect Arrested

Dothan, Al.
Shantez Dionte Webster, black male, 17 years of age, of Greentree Avenue was arrested and charged as an adult with First Degree Robbery with a $60,000 bond. 

Shantez Dionte Webster

On March 1, 2012 the Dothan Police Department responded to an armed robbery of a person in the 900 block of West Powell Street. The victim told police while at his mailbox; the suspect ran up to him, pointed a gun at him and demanded money. The victim gave the suspect the cash he had in his pocket after which the suspect fled. Investigators responded to the scene and began working to identify the suspect who was located and arrested a short time after the original incident.

Deputies: Meth suspect was still smoking his pipe when authorities knocked at the door

S. McDuffie                     D. McDuffie                         A. Terry

SEMMES, Al.
Three men were arrested Wednesday in a methamphetamine  investigation at a trailer in Semmes, and Mobile County sheriff's deputies said one of the men answered a knock at the door holding a meth pipe, authorities said.
Spokeswoman Lori Myles identified the men as brothers Christopher Shawn McDuffie, 35; and Raymond Dwayne McDuffie, 52; as well as James Allen Terry, 51. All 3 were charged with 1st-degree manufacture of a controlled substance and trafficking methamphetamine, Myles said.

The trailer on Ellen Drive

Additionally, Christopher McDuffie was charged with possession and receiving a controlled substance after answering the deputies' knock with the pipe in his hand.
All 3 were in Mobile County Metro Jail this evening without bail.

Myles said that the trailer on Ellen Drive in Semmes had been the object of numerous neighbors' complaints in recent weeks. She said that 3 guns were found in the home, and deputies found a meth lab inside as well. Myles added that a 3rd McDuffie brother who lives at the trailer was not present and is being sought for questioning.

To report a suspected meth operation, text the word "meth" to 839863 or call the MCSO main line at 574-8633.

Auburn man wanted in connection with a convenience store robbery

AUBURN, AL.

Eligah Mayberry III

The Auburn Police Department is asking for your help in finding a man they say is responsible for an armed robbery this week.
Authorities are looking for 21-year-old Eligah Mayberry III.
Police say shortly after 8 am Monday he went to the Corner Market on Martin Luther King Drive and used a gun to get away with cash. He then fled the scene on foot.
He is described as 6'2 and weighs 155 pounds.
Anyone with information regarding the robbery or the whereabouts of Mayberry is asked to contact the Auburn Police Division at (334) 501-3140 or anonymously by voice or text on the tip line at (334) 246-1391.  

Dollar General robbers sought

Dothan, Al.

On February 29, 2012 the Dothan Police Department responded to an armed robbery at the Dollar General, 1060 West Main Street. The preliminary investigation quickly revealed that two males entered the store approximately posing as customers one hour prior to closing time and were seen by employees who thought they had left and did not realize the suspects’ had hidden in the back of the store. Once the business had closed, the employees were in the back office counting money when the suspects forced entry into the office, each armed with a handgun. The first suspect was described as a black male with a gold tooth, 6’0 tall with dreadlock style hair wearing all black. The second suspect was described as a black male, 5’8 tall wearing a black hat with a gray brim and a circle emblem, a white shirt, khaki pants, white shoes and a blue bandana over his face. Police are asking anyone with information about the case or identity of the suspect to call the Dothan Police Department or CrimeStoppers 334-793-7000.

Eufaula man arrested for Package Store robbery

Dothan, Al.
William Ladell Smith, black male, 18 years of age, of Eufaula, Alabama was arrested and charged with First Degree Robbery and Possession of an Altered Firearm with bond being established later today.
 

On February 27, 2012 at 8:16 p.m., the Dothan Police Department Communications Center received a report of an armed robbery in progress at Van's Package Store, 307 Columbia Highway. An employee reported that a man in possession firearm robbed her at gunpoint taking cash from the business before fleeing on foot. The clerk described the suspect, as a black male, 5’08-5’10 with a slender build wearing a blue bandana over his face.

Investigators worked diligently on this investigation throughout the day and were able to identify the suspect as William Ladell Smith. Patrolmen located the suspect and took him into custody after a short foot pursuit on Johnson Circle.