Criminal Details

The Dothan Eagle
Lance Griffin – Apr. 22, 2009

Michael McLendon was not obsessed with guns as much as he was with shooting, and when he rode through Samson on the afternoon of March 10, firing indiscriminantly at passers-by, he was smiling.

McLendon, who killed 10 and then himself in the deadliest mass shooting in Alabama history, had been planning to kill his mother, himself and others at a later date, but moved up his plan after his mother was suspended from her job just before the killing spree.

Many of the details of the events leading up to the deadly assault were revealed in a 25-page investigative summary report from the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office and the Coffee County District Attorney’s Office. The information was made available in response to an Alabama Open Records request from the Dothan Eagle.

Because the incidents took place in two counties over several jurisdictions, numerous law enforcement agencies took part in investigating all or part of the day’s events. A similar request for information sent to the Alabama Bureau of Investigation was denied. A separate request to the Geneva County Sheriff’s Office has not been answered.

Authorities found a printed letter from McLendon to a family member in a mailbox near his home in Kinston, hours after his mother was found murdered in the home along with the family dogs. The letter indicated his intent to kill her and others:

Moma was very sick. Had lung cancer I think. So I put her out of her misery. She wanted to die with her dog’s and she did. I put the dog’s to sleep as well. I couldn’t leave this world not knowing what would happen to our dog’s. Moma didn’t know what hit her. I shot her while she was asleep. She never knew what hit her. Nor did the dog’s.

I’m sorry! But Moma had suffered enough. And so have I. Some of the people who made us suffer will pay.

I had planned to put this off for a while but Moma got suspended today. Wasn’t her falt. You know moma always worked hard … She said she didn’t care and was relieved and She was. I carried her to get some Beer and walked around for a while out side, moma Loved it there.

For me I’ve been miserable for a long time and can’t take it no more. Moma could have gotten on at Wayne Farms. But that would have finished her. I couldn’t stand by and see that happen.

Please For Give me, Michael

Lisa McLendon was suspended from her job March 8. Her suspension letter indicated she would be allowed to return March 17. Evidence indicates Michael McLendon quit his job at Kelley Foods March 4. He did not give employers a reason.

After the events in Kinston, McLendon drove to Samson, armed with a small arsenal. Investigators found 22 empty ammunition boxes in the Kinston home. He killed other family members in Samson and then began firing at random people throughout town. Coffee County 911 received at least two calls from people who said McLendon shot at them, including one from a woman who was close enough to see his face.

“He was shooting all the way down 52 headed toward Geneva … He shot at me … He was shooting at everybody. He was shooting out of both sides of the car … He had glasses on. He was unshaven. He had brown hair, and he was smiling. I was that close to him as he was doing it,” said a woman who called Coffee County 911 after traveling from Samson to Kinston.

Police chased McLendon into Geneva, where he engaged in a shootout with law enforcement before traveling to Reliable Products on State Highway 27. He engaged in another shootout with law enforcement before entering the business and killing himself. Police believe McLendon fired more than 200 rounds.

Evidence collected from the McLendon home indicates he had an obsession with shooting and gunfights. Coffee County Sheriff’s and District Attorney investigators recovered about 40 DVDs dealing with firing weapons in combat situations. Among the titles of the DVDs were “Move! Shoot. Learn to survive a gunfight”, “Shooting at and from moving vehicles”, “Advanced guide to Combat Shooting and Gunfight Survival” and “Rapid Firepower — Submachine Guns … Assault Rifles … The Urban Battlefield.”

Other evidence collected included about a dozen DVDs depicting various types of pornography, two loaded 410 shotguns and a bayonet which had been stuck into a can of paint thinner, which was believed to be the accelerant used to start a fire that burned part of the home.

Other evidence revealed glimpses of a man who failed in attempts to be a Marine and a police officer and who made notes about coworkers who he believed had wronged him.

A letter written by McLendon to his mother soon after his high school graduation hinted at what would soon be a futile attempt at becoming a Marine.

“Can’t swim … can’t do enough pullups … shoulder problems … not making the grade,” McLendon wrote.

He was discharged from Marine basic training in October of 1999 for “fraudulent entry”, apparently failing to disclose that he suffered from chronic shoulder dislocations. In a discharge letter from Marine Corps Capt. D.H. Peterson, Jr., he wrote, “He needs to improve his physical strength and confidence … He does not appear mentally sharp.”

In September of 2003, he was discharged from the regional police academy in Montgomery when he failed his physical. Evidence collected indicates the City of Samson billed McLendon for $227 for charges incurred while he was in Montgomery attending the academy.

Michael McLendon was born Michael Kenneth West on Sept. 19, 1980, the son of Lisa and Randell West. They divorced just four months later. Lisa soon married David McLendon and David McLendon officially adopted Michael in 1985, and Michael took on the McLendon name. Lisa and David McLendon divorced in 1992.

Many who knew Michael McLendon said he appeared well adjusted. Samson Mayor Clay King coached McLendon in Pee Wee and Little League baseball.

“He was always very respectful, did what he was asked to do,” King said. “He was kind of quiet, but not to the point that you would consider it abnormal.”

And Lisa McLendon appeared to love her son. A family Bible was found in the McLendon home. Inside the front cover are two paragraphs, apparently written by Lisa McLendon:

On September 19, 1980 Michael Kenneth (McLendon) was born in Wiregrass Hospital, Geneva Alabama. He was born at 1:31 that afternoon. He weighed 8 lb. 13 oz. and was 20 1/2’’ long. This was the happiest day of my life.

As Michael grows older, he becomes a more important part of my life. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I love you son.

Geneva County Massacre

The victims were:

• Lisa White McLendon, 52, Michael McLendon’s mother
• James Alford White, 55, McLendon’s uncle
• Tracy Michelle Wise, 34, daughter of James White
• Dean James Wise, 15, son of Tracy Wise
• Virginia E. White, 74, McLendon’s grandmother
• Andrea Dawn Myers, 31
• Corrine Gracy Myers, 18 months, daughter of Andrea Myers
• James Irvin Starling, 24
• Sonya Lolley Smith, 43
• Bruce Wilson Maloy, 51

FindAGrave.com
Don Atwell – Mar. 12, 2009
View on FindAGrave.com

Alabama Department of Public Safety

MONTGOMERY – State, federal and local investigators responding to the multiple homicides March 10 in south Alabama are piecing together the sequence of events that resulted in the shooting deaths of 10 victims, the injury of six individuals, and the death of the suspect from a self-inflicted gunshot. Investigators also are working to determine a motive for the deadly attacks.

The gunman has been identified as Michael Kenneth McLendon, 28, of Coffee County.

We believe the attacks began at McLendon’s mother’s residence in Coffee County on County Road 474 in Kinston, where McLendon also lived. The body of a woman was discovered at the residence at approximately 3:30 p.m. when local firefighters responded to witness reports of a fire at that location. The Department of Forensic Sciences is working to confirm the identity, but the victim is believed to be Lisa White McLendon, 52, McLendon’s mother.

McLendon then traveled to Samson in Geneva County, where he shot and killed five individuals on the front porch of his uncle’s residence on West Pullum Street. The victims are identified as:

• Corrine Gracy Myers, 18 months, the daughter of Geneva County Deputy Josh Myers
• Andrea D. Myers, 31, mother of the 18-month-old and wife of Deputy Myers
• James Alford White, 55, identified as McLendon’s uncle
• Tracy Michelle Wise, 34, identified as McLendon’s cousin
• Dean James Wise, 15, identified as Ms. Wise’s son and McLendon’s second cousin

Injured at that residence was 4-month-old Ella K. Myers, the daughter of Deputy Myers. Ella was transported by LifeFlight to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. This morning she was listed in stable condition and scheduled for surgery.

McLendon then shot and killed Virginia E. White, 74, identified as McLendon’s grandmother, who was standing in the doorway of her home on Pullum Street, next door to the residence where the first attack occurred.

McLendon then left Pullum Street, traveling north on Wise Street in a red 2003 Mitsubishi. On Wise Street, McLendon shot and killed a pedestrian, James Irvin Starling, 24. McLendon continued north onto Main Street in Samson, where he shot and injured Jeffrey Lynn Nelson, 50.

McLendon then traveled to the Inland Gas Station on Main Street in Samson, where he shot and killed Sonja Smith, 43. Injured at that location was Greg McCullough, 49. McLendon continued traveling east on Alabama 52, firing rounds into several businesses and vehicles as he drove.

At 4:01 p.m. CDT, an Alabama state trooper notified the Dothan State Trooper Post that he had received a report of a subject shooting at people in Samson, and the trooper proceeded toward Samson on Alabama 52.

McLendon, traveling east on Highway 52 toward Geneva, then shot and killed Bruce Wilson Malloy, 51, who was traveling in a vehicle on 52.

At 4:06 p.m. CDT, the Alabama state trooper encountered McLendon on Alabama 52, and McLendon fired at least seven rounds into the trooper’s vehicle. The trooper, Mike Gillis, was injured slightly by broken glass, and continued the pursuit on McLendon into Geneva.

The Geneva Police Department attempted to stop McLendon using a PIT, or pursuit intervention maneuver, in front of the Wal-Mart in Geneva. McLendon fired several rounds into the officer’s vehicle, injuring him with glass fragments. Geneva Police Chief Frankie Lindsey attempted to block McLendon’s exit from the area, at which time McLendon fired several rounds at the chief. Chief Lindsey was wounded in the shoulder.

McLendon continued on Highway 52, turned onto Maple Avenue in Geneva, and then onto Highway 27 north. He stopped at Reliable Products in Geneva at 4:17 p.m., where he exited his vehicle. McLendon exchanged fire with a Geneva County deputy and a state Conservation officer before entering the Reliable Products building. Within minutes, gunshots were heard, and McLendon was discovered dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

McLendon was employed at Kelley Foods of Alabama. We have identified that in 2003, he was briefly employed as a police officer in Samson, but failed to complete required training at the police academy in Montgomery. He had no known criminal record.

McLendon was armed with two assault rifles, an SKS and a Bushmaster, using high-capacity magazines taped together; a shotgun; and a .38-caliber handgun. At this time we believe that he fired in excess of 200 rounds during the assaults.

In addition to the Alabama Department of Public Safety, agencies participating in the investigation are the Geneva County Sheriff’s Department, Geneva Police Department, Samson Police Department, Coffee County Sheriff’s Department, Dothan Police Department, Dale County Sheriff’s Department, Andalusia Police Department, Covington County Sheriff’s Department, New Brockton Police Department, Ozark Police Department, State Fire Marshal, Alabama Beverage Control Board, Conservation and Natural Resources, Department of Forensic Sciences, Emergency Management Agency, Alabama Power Company investigators, the FBI, ATF, and Ft. Rucker Police Department.

Other News Links

March 2009 – V.O.C.A.L. Samson Massacre Story

March 11, 2009 1am – CNN.com

March 11, 2009 10pm – CNN.com

March 11, 2009 – ABCNEWS.com

March 11, 2009 – NYTimes.com

Wikipedia – Geneva County Massacre

Michael McLendon – Murderpedia.com