Memorials for Victims

Criminal Details

The Dothan Eagle
May 7, 2013

A Houston County judge dismissed the murder charge filed against a Birmingham man in a fatal shooting outside a Dothan nightclub.

Attorney Clay Wadsworth said Circuit Court Judge Michael Conaway dismissed the murder charge filed against his 31-year-old client, Travarius Dewaunkalis Daniel, based on a request by Houston County District Attorney Doug Valeska on Tuesday morning.

“He’s been in jail about a year and five months. The judge issued an order releasing him,” Wadsworth said. “There is currently a hold on him from Jefferson County. It’s a failure to appear up there, but he was down here in jail.”

Daniel had been held for more than a year at the Houston County Jail on $500,000 bail. Dothan police investigators arrested Daniel on Jan. 24, 2012. He was scheduled for trial this week on the murder charge.

Police charged Daniel with shooting 26-year-old Anthony Jerome Robinson to death outside a nightclub located on East Powell Street called Primetime.

Valeska said law enforcement will continue to investigate the murder.

“I’m looking for more evidence, and more witnesses in the case,” Valeska said.

Wadsworth said he went to the Houston County Jail on Tuesday morning with the intention of telling his client he was a free man. But Wadsworth said he discovered the hold placed on him from Jefferson County.

Wadsworth said his client had a pending breaking and entering of a motor vehicle charge that he was out on bond for when he was charged in the murder case in Dothan.

“I don’t expect him to be in there long,” Wadsworth said of his client. “He was thrilled, and justice was served in this matter for him. It’s a victory for not only our client, but our firm.”

Wadsworth serves as an attorney with the Jacoby & Meyers law firm. He said as the district attorney asked the court for the dismissal he said prosecutors would likely put it before a Houston County grand jury for further review at a later date.“We just felt we had a rock solid case,” Wadsworth said. “Our client’s contention the entire time was he did not shoot anybody, he did not fire a gun or even have a gun.”Wadsworth said they planned to put eye witness testimony before the jury of people who saw his client defending himself in a fight outside the club with no weapon in his possession.Wadsworth said the defense team was ready for trial with assistance in preparing their case from CW Investigations, a local private investigation firm.Attorney Adam Jones, who served as co-counsel with Wadsworth, said Daniel was working security that night for the promotional company hired by the club.“I think he sat in jail for 15 months for nothing,” Jones said. “The case against this guy was just nonexistent. The state’s only witness told the police that Mr. Daniel could not have been the shooter. Two days later he comes back in and says I did see Mr. Daniel with a gun.”

Criminal Details

WTVY.com
Press Release - May 23, 2013

Sheriff LeRoy Upshaw announced the arrest of Willie James Dickerson Jr. 41, of 4444 Hwy. 51 S. Ariton, AL (Doster Community) by the Barbour County Sheriff's Office. Dickerson is being charged with Capital Murder in the death of Willie David Pugh of Clio, AL.

Sheriff Upshaw said that the alleged murder occurred in Barbour County just south of Clio on January 14, 2012. The investigation has been ongoing since that time after the victim's girlfriend reported him missing on January 15, 2012. She stated that Pugh was supposedly going to Dickerson's residence. The victim's car was located approximately 500 yards south of Dickerson's residence, parked behind an abandoned mobile home. The victim's bloody clothing was found inside the car.

Upshaw said that an intense manhunt was launched for the missing person by his agency and others including, Dale County Sheriff's Office, ABI, FBI, Clio PD, Elamville, Louisville and White Oak Shores Fire Departments, Regional Land and Water Rescue, Southwest Panhandle Search and Rescue, Henry County Rescue, Monroe County Search and Rescue, Liberty and Washington County Florida Search and Rescue Teams, Barbour County EMA, the NAACP, private citizens, and Jean Hartzog who delivered food and water for everyone. Upshaw is very appreciative of everyone who took part in the search for the victim.

The victim was located in a wooded area off of Sutton Dairy Rd. on January 24, 2012 and transported to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in Montgomery for an autopsy. The autopsy reveled the victim died from stab wounds and blunt force trauma.

Upshaw said that this was a very time consuming investigation due in part to there being three different crime scenes, as well as a fire at the suspect's residence on the night of January 25, 2012. Before the investigation could move forward, the fire had to be investigated by the Alabama Fire Marshall Office. Upshaw said the investigation concluded on May 21, 2012.

Barbour County Sheriff's Office Investigator, Lt. David Morris who was in charge of the investigation,would like to thank all of the many people who were involved in one or another aspect of the investigation including the disappearance of the victim, the resultant manhunt, and crime scene. He would like to personally thank Investigator Joe Weaver of the Dale County Sheriff's office who assisted Morris in just about every step in the investigation and Crime Scene Investigator, Jon Thomas from Dothan Police Department who gave his invaluable service at the crime scenes, autopsy, and evidence collection. "It made my job so much easier having these guys with me step for step," Morris said.

Lt. Morris arrested the suspect at the Houston County Jail on May 23, 2012, where he is currently incarnated on separate charges by Dothan Police Department.

Union Springs Herald
June 24, 2015

Judge Albert Johnson ordered a mistrial in the Dickerson trial because the jurors could not agree on a verdict.

Willie James Dickerson, Jr. was tried for the murder of Willie David Pugh which occurred January of 2012. Dickerson and Pugh both lived in Barbour County near Clio at the time.

Judge Burt Smithart, who is the circuit judge for Bullock and Barbour Counties, recused himself from presiding over the trial.

In Judge Smithart’s Order of Recusal, he stated under the Canons of Judicial Responsibility, the Court must avoid even the appearance of impropriety. Judge Smithart said his role in the case had been intentionally distorted and falsely portrayed to the public by a blog reporter in internet postings.

Before Judge Smithart recused himself from the case he had transferred the venue of the trial to Russell County to insure a fair and unbiased jury pool. Retired Judge Albert Johnson was assigned to preside over the trial by the Alabama Supreme Court.

Attorneys Emmitt Wade Hampton and J. Carlton Taylor represented the defendant and District Attorney Ben Reeves was the prosecutor for the state. Reeves serves as district attorney for Bullock and Barbour Counties.

The jury was selected on Monday, June 15, 2015. The trial began the next day and lasted about four and a half days. Prosecutor Ben Reeves was well prepared for the trial. He presented physical evidence, pictures, audio recordings and witnesses.

The defense attorneys cross-examined witnesses and raised questions about the evidence. A forensic medical examiner employed with the State of Alabama testified that Pugh died as a result of a cut carotid artery in his neck.

He also said Pugh had a fractured jaw, missing teeth and a cut voice box. Many things pointed to Dickerson’s guilt. A bloody steak knife was found in Dickerson’s bathroom sink; bloody towels and rags were found in Dickerson’s bedroom all of which had Pugh’s DNA thereon. Dickerson’s DNA was found on a latex glove fingertip torn from a latex glove. The glove fingertip was inside the duct tape that was wrapped around Pugh’s body. A latex glove with a missing fingertip was found in Dickerson’s bedroom.

Evidence showed that Dickerson and Pugh were together on the night of the murder. The day after the murder, Dickerson’s body had scratches and cuts which Reeves contended he received while he was dragging Pugh’s body into the woods.

Dickerson gave four different excuses for the scratches and cuts. He first said his girlfriend scratched him, then he said a dog did it, then he said he got them while he and Pugh were in the woods at night looking for a marijuana patch and lastly he told his mother, in a recorded phone conversation from jail, that a wild animal like a bobcat or a cougar or a panther attacked him. But possibly the most incriminating evidence was a recorded phone conversation made by Dickerson while he was in jail in Dothan, AL. He called his sister and it appeared he may have been asking his sister to burn his home or she would never see him again.

About two hours after that phone call, firefighters were called to a fire at Dickerson’s home. Reeves told the jury Dickerson wanted his home burned so the evidence inside would be destroyed before law enforcement could find it.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire and law enforcement was able to retrieve evidence from the home. One of the defense attorneys said law enforcement did a shoddy job and a much better investigation could have taken place.

He pointed out that law enforcement didn’t even question neighbors. He said the evidence was all circumstantial and the prosecutor didn’t prove the case beyond reasonable doubt. The jury began deliberations at about 2:15 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, June 22, 2015.

Around noon on the next day the jurors told the judge they could not agree on a verdict. Judge Johnson ordered a mistrial. Dickerson’s charges were reduced from capital murder to murder during the trial.

Since the charges were reduced, Dickerson will now be eligible for a bond. Judge Johnson will set the bond amount at a later date. The case will be retried probably later this year, according to one of the defense attorneys.

After the conclusion of the trial, District Attorney Ben Reeves told reporters, “We were looking forward to a guilty verdict, that part is disappointing. We are disappointed for the family. We’ve had maybe 25 Pugh family members here all day everyday and it’s heartbreaking for them to sit here and then have to walk out without the justice they deserve and the justice they were seeking. We’ll do it again whenever the judge sets us a date. We’ll get another jury and we’ll do our case even stronger and harder and learn from this and go forward and get a guilty verdict on the next go around.”

Dickerson’s attorneys released the following statement to the press, “Mr. Dickerson and his legal team would like to thank the jurors for their diligence in deliberating this case and attempting to reach a verdict. We are obviously disappointed they were unable to return a Not Guilty verdict which we feel was supported by the evidence. The State did not meet its burden of proving their case beyond a reasonable doubt. Further, we are elated to be proceeding forward with a non-Capital charge of murder and feel that upon a retrial a verdict of Not Guilty will be returned by the newly empanelled jury in this matter; hopefully some time later this year. We would lastly commend the Court for its handling of this case which made for a smoother trial process allowing the jury to focus on the evidence. Mr. Dickerson, who has been held without bond for three years, now has an $80,000.00 bond and hopefully will be released pending trial.”

Eufaula Tribune
Penny Carter - Mar. 10, 2017

A death in the family for defense attorney Connie Cooper has led to a continuance in the murder trial against Willie James Dickerson, who stands accused of killing Barbour County man Willie David Pugh in January of 2012.

Jury selection wrapped up before lunch on Monday, March 6, leading to opening statements being heard from Barbour County District Attorney Ben Reeves and Cooper immediately after lunch at the Russell County Justice Center in Phenix City. The jury for the case consisted of 13 people, 12 jurors and an alternate, which were made up of four men and nine women.

Reeves began his opening statements by telling the jury that the case is important “not only to the state, Willie Pugh and his family, but to Willie Dickerson also.” He continued through his opening statement laying out the order of events that occurred on Jan. 14, 2012, as Pugh and his common law wife, Brittany, got up and went about the activities they had planned for the day. He told of how Pugh dropped Brittany off at her sister’s house that evening, and then went into the details of Brittany’s search for Pugh after he quit answering his phone later that night. Reeves gave an account of how the Clio Police Department became involved in the case, as well as the Barbour County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies, and painted a picture of the scene at Dickerson’s house the morning after Pugh went missing and Brittany found the car he had been driving the night before not far from the Dickerson residence.

The District Attorney chronicled the four different stories Dickerson told to explain the scratches and injuries he had on his body the day after Pugh disappeared, and of the week long search that brought multiple state agencies, volunteer search and rescue groups, family, friends and other volunteers out in the foul weather that plagued the area that January. The finding of Pugh’s body by a lone individual, just two days after the organized search ended, was particularized along with the scene as multiple law enforcement agencies processed the area. Details of evidence collected both from Dickerson’s home, the car and the area where the body was found were gone over in detail, as was the searches of Dickerson’s home.

The death of the lead investigator, David Morris, for the county Sheriff’s department in 2014 was talked about. Reeves told jury members that with Morris’s death it did add a level of difficulty to the trial, but that Morris had testified at a hearing before his death on evidence that had been collected and that his sworn testimony would be read to them in regards to the evidence and case.

Recorded conversations from the Houston County Jail, where Dickerson was transported to for outstanding warrants from Houston County after he was questioned by the BCSO, between Dickerson, his mother and his sister that were made the day Pugh’s body was found were elaborated on. Reeves told of how Dickerson told his sister in code to burn his house, that if she didn’t do it for him “he would never get out of jail.”

“There’s not going to be a confession,” Reeves said to jury members as he closed his opening statement Monday afternoon. “Evidence in this case points to nobody but Willie Dickerson.” He told them to remember the jail calls he had told them about, that the sequence of them were important in regards to the trailer fire and evidence…that Dickerson wanted a bag of evidence gone before it was found.

Cooper began her opening statement calling the case odd, strange and bizarre; she commented that it was one of the strangest cases she had worked.

“I will call into question a lot of David Morris’s actions, Cooper said. She continued on claiming that there was gross negligence in the case and the handling of evidence.

She asked the jury to “consider the circumstances of statements given by Dickerson, that none were ever recorded or written out and that they are asked to believe that officers remembered everything that Dickerson said.”

Cooper hinted that evidence was planted by Morris, giving details and dates of when evidence was found and when it was sent off for testing. She hinted at an illegal search of Dickerson’s residence, saying that Morris went into the house before a search warrant was ever obtained and that during multiple searches a bag supposedly lying on the floor by the defendant’s bed, that contained evidence, was never seen by any of the officers. She noted that it was during the fourth search of Dickerson’s home that the bag was found.

Cooper pointed out that there was no trace evidence in the car…no finger prints. “Not one piece of evidence contains both DNA of these men,” she commented. “As soon as Morris zeroed in on Dickerson, the case was solved. I am not trying to make Morris a scapegoat – I wish he was here so I could put his feet to the fire.”

Three witnesses - Brittany McLeod, Pugh’s common-law wife; Ricky Kennedy, a police officer from Clio; and Clio Police Chief Richard Johnson – were called during the first day.

As soon as court got under way on Tuesday, Cooper immediately asked to address the court before the jury came in to be seated. It was at this point that Cooper asked retired acting Russell County Circuit Court Judge Albert L. Johnson for a mistrial in the case that had just opened the previous day. She went on to explain that during the early morning hours Tuesday, her sister-in-law passed away unexpectedly and she felt like she needed to be with her family.

“I am a solo practitioner, and even if I had another attorney with me, I feel responsible for the presentation of the evidence in this case, so I feel I have no choice but to request a mistrial,” Cooper told the court. “This is a case that requires so much focus and attention and at this time I just feel like I need to be there for my family.”

“By the look on her face you could tell something wasn’t right,” Reeves said of Cooper Tuesday afternoon. “I could tell something was wrong.”

During her address to the court, Cooper said that she knew Reeves had testimony that would carry the trial through Thursday, and at the present time she felt that she couldn’t continue. “I need to be with my family, Judge.”

After the jury were brought into the courtroom and seated, Judge Johnson addressed them saying, “If you remember at the beginning of the trial I told you that I would not make any of you sit here if an emergency came up and you needed to be at home, well the same is true for the attorneys.” He then told them of the unexpected death of the defense attorney’s sister-in-law.

Judge Johnson questioned how to handle the case other than declaring a mistrial, saying that that would involve a lot of rescheduling. “If I can find a date in the next several weeks that we can get a courtroom and get everyone back together, then we’ll continue. I would prefer to continue the case and not have to start all over again because we are in the second day of the trial now. Now, if I can’t find something in the next several weeks, then I may be forced to out of manifest necessity - since the jurors have heard testimony - to declare a mistrial. I hesitate to continue until October, and bring everybody back and continue, because we’d have to start over again.”

With the agreement of both the District Attorney and the defense attorney, Monday, March 27, was set by Judge Johnson to continue the trial and to pick up with witnesses at the point where the trial was recessed on March 6.

Criminal Details

WBRC.com
Joshua Gauntt - 2014

TUSCALOOSA, AL (WBRC) - Ricky Crooks has been found not guilty of capital murder but has been found guilty of lesser charges in the death of a University of Alabama graduate student.

Crooks will be sentenced for manslaughter, attempted murder and discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling.

According to the Tuscaloosa County District Attorney's office, the attempted murder charge carries a potential sentence of 20 years to life in prison. The manslaughter charge and discharging a firearm into an occupied building/dewlling carries a possible sentence of 10 to 20 years each.

His sentencing hearing will be scheduled soon.

Prosecutors say that Crooks shot at another individual from his vehicle toward the Buddy's Food Mart at the intersection of Hargrove Road and 10th Avenue on September 11, 2011.

The shooting occurred around the same time that 25-year-old James Harry "Trey" Johnson was walking from his vehicle to a friend's apartment at Sterling Crimson Apartments, which is near the food mart.

Police have contended that one of those bullets fired by Crooks hit Johnson.

Criminal Details

WBRC.com
Joshua Gauntt - 2014

The family of 29-year-old Milton Jones said they think the City of Dothan and its police force should be featured on the television show “First 48.”

Keisha Jones and her mother, Patricia Johnson, said the quick work by investigators in making an arrest in the slaying of their loved one merits a spot on the A&E television show about the importance of the first 48 hours of a murder investigation.

“For them to do it so quickly, it lets us know our police department cares,” said Keisha Jones, Milton Jones’ sister. “I feel like without them being as dedicated as they were, the crime would not have been solved. I feel like the City of Dothan should be on ‘First 48.’ They did better than what I see on TV.”

Dothan Police Maj. Steve Parrish announced Thursday the arrest of 48-year-old Gregory Leon Lawton on a capital murder charge in the shooting death of Jones.

Parrish said police believe Jones was likely killed sometime Monday, but was not found until Tuesday morning. He said police found Jones slumped over on the floorboard of his car, which was left parked on Leila Drive near Alexander Drive in Ford Country.

“Investigators worked tirelessly. We had quite a few calls that came in, and that certainly helped,” Parrish said. “We pull everybody in and everybody works on one case because for every hour that goes by after a crime is committed, the case gets colder and colder. This has been a round the clock investigation.”

Parrish said the shooting happened in the yard of Lawton’s mother’s residence on LaGrand Drive. Police say after Jones suffered a single gunshot wound to the head, he was placed in his own vehicle and driven to Leila Drive.

Parrish said police believe a high-powered rifle was used in the killing, which he said has not been found. He also said police served at least three search warrants during the murder inquiry, including one at the LaGrand home.

“The nature of the crime was very violent,” Parrish said. “Investigators tend to believe it may be drug related. Both parties have a criminal history, and Lawton is a career criminal.”

Parrish said police were assisted by the FBI and the state Department of Forensic Sciences. He also said police have not ruled out additional arrests and charges being filed in the ongoing investigation.

Lawton will be taken to the Houston County Jail and held without bail on the capital murder charge. According to Brian Corbett, with the state Department of Corrections, Lawton was released in June after being paroled on a life sentence for armed robbery. Corbett said in an email that Lawton also served time in prison for burglary and receiving stolen property. Lawton had served 26 years in prison when he was released in June.

Closure

Patricia Johnson, Jones’ mother, said how quickly an arrest was made in her son’s killing brought the family some relief and closure.

“My son was just a loving family man,” Johnson said of the father of four. “My son did not deserve this. That’s what’s so devastating to me, that he brutalized him so bad we can’t even show the body (at the funeral).”

Johnson said her son knew his alleged assailant, and even played cards with him on occasion.

Kenny Glasgow, the pastor at a local ministry called the Ordinary People’s Society (TOPS), said he knew both Jones and Lawton, but he knew Jones more closely. Glasgow said he knew Jones as “Lil Milt.”

“Milton Jones was very, very dear to me,” Glasgow said. “He ministered to me when I was on drugs over 15 years ago, before I went to prison. He helped me with my drug problem when I was on crack cocaine, and I’ll never forget it.”

Glasgow said Jones inspired him to get involved in the ministry. Glasgow recalled how he last saw Jones at the TOPS ministry only a few days before Jones' death.

“He’s one of the two young men that inspired me to do what I’m doing in the community with my ministry now,” Glasgow said. “One of the main things about Lil Milt is he wanted people to come together and unify.”

“Here recently he was really, really just about his family and his kids. What’s so alarming is when young men that are trying to get their life right and can’t get jobs and can’t get help it leaves them vulnerable to something like this happening to them. Now we have two young men’s lives that are over.”

Criminal Details

The Dothan Eagle
Matt Elofson - Jun 29, 2011

Two Dothan parents face criminal charges after police arrested them in the connection to the death of their 4-year-old son.

According to a Dothan police statement, police arrested Christopher Shawn Aldridge, 35, and Stephanie Nicole Coogle, 23, and charged them each with a single count of felony manslaughter.

Court records indicate Dothan police charged the two people with recklessly causing the death of Shawn Aldridge due to heat exhaustion after being left in a Ford Explorer for about nine hours.

Criminal Details

The Dothan Eagle
Matt Elofson - Nov. 14, 2014

An Abbeville woman received a 13-year prison sentence on Friday for stabbing a 32-year-old man to death.

Henry County Circuit Court Clerk Shirline Vickers said Circuit Court Judge Larry Anderson sentenced Pamela Kelley to the 13-year prison term. She said the court also set a Dec. 12 probation hearing date for Kelley.

A jury found Kelley guilty last month of a lesser included felony manslaughter charge.

Investigators with the Henry County Sheriff’s Office originally arrested Kelley, charging her with murder in the stabbing death of Bunard Reynolds on Dec. 3, 2010.

Attorney Arthur Medley said his client faced an enhanced minimum sentence of 10 years, instead of two to 20 years in prison, because a deadly weapon was used during the commission of the crime.

Medley said his client, who has been in custody since her arrest in December 2010, will receive credit for time served in jail toward her sentence. He also said since she received a sentence of less than 15 years she will be eligible for possible early release, and could finish her sentence in December.

“We tried it and the jury agreed it wasn’t murder. I thought it was a well reasoned and thoughtful, appropriate sentence,” Medley said. “It’s a tragedy this guy is dead, but at the same time Pam was in a relationship with him too. She’s lost somebody and his family has lost somebody too. It’s horrible for everybody involved. Now the best we can do is pick up the pieces and try to move forward.”

WTVY.com
Cynthia Washington - Sep. 30, 2014

Pamela Kelley was found guilty of manslaughter in the December 2010 fatal stabbing of Bunard Reynolds. The jury deliberated for 15 minutes before finding a verdict. Her sentencing date has been set for November 14, 2014.

Tuesday was day 2 of a Henry County murder trial.

A woman is accused of stabbing her lover to death after a heated argument. The woman is claiming it's self defense.

Pamela Kelley was Burnad Reynolds girlfriend but slight problem? He was also married. And Kelley is accused of killing Reynolds in December of 2010.

Tuesday, the prosecution called their 7th witness, Sergeant Steven Sanders. He testified to seeing a bloody shirt and knife at the Kelley home the night of the stabbing.

The jury then heard a recorded interview between Sgt. Sanders another investigator and Kelley. In the interview, Kelley said Reynolds was at her house with a few friends playing cards and drinking. She says he went outside to talk to a friend and when he came back they started fighting.

Kelley says it escalated and Reynolds began to beat her and she stabbed in him with a steak knife in self defense. She says he was not trying to kill him just to send a message.

The Reynolds's family disagrees with Kelley's claims.

Reynolds died from the two stab wounds in the chest.

The prosecution finished Tuesday, the defense will start Wednesday.

Criminal Details

WJHG.com
Associated Press - Jul. 20, 2010

Opp Police Chief Nickey Carnley has identified a 4-year-old by who was shot to death as Curtis Alexander Ruede. The child was fatally shot on Friday. Carnley says 25-year-old John Curtis Davis, the boy's uncle, is charged with capital murder.

Carnley said Monday the weapon, which was identified Friday at a 14.5 mm rifle, was actually at .177 mm pellet gun.

Davis is being held in the Covington County, Al., Jail without bond. District Attorney Greg Gambril says a lawyer will be appointed to represent Davis this week.

gonebutnotforgotten.wordpress.com
The Associated Press - Sep. 20, 2012

An Opp man accused of killing his 4-year-old nephew has been sentenced to life in prison.

WAKA-TV reports that 28-year-old John C. Davis was sentenced Wednesday after he pleaded guilty in the July 2010 killing of Curtis Ruede.

Davis was originally charged with capital murder. Authorities had said he fatally shot his nephew with a pellet gun because he dropped a checker piece on his foot.

In addition to being sentenced to life in prison, Davis was also ordered to pay restitution for his nephew’s burial expenses and $5,000 to the Crime Victim’s Compensation Fund.

Criminal Details

The Dothan Eagle
Matt Elofson - Jul. 12, 2010

A convicted sex offender faces a murder charge after Geneva County Sheriff’s investigators charged him with stabbing a Samson man to death over the weekend.

Chief Sheriff’s Deputy Tony Helms said detectives charged Donnie Mullins, 52, with murder in the stabbing death of 34-year-old Jamie Elmore. Helms said the stabbing happened Saturday evening a few miles outside Samson on the side of Alabama Highway 153. Helms said the men were traveling in a vehicle driven by Mullins when a confrontation occurred between them.

“There was a verbal altercation, they pulled off to the side of the road, and a fight started between Jamie Elmore and Donnie Mullins,” Helms said. “During the fight, Jamie Elmore received multiple stab wounds to the upper torso.”

The stabbing happened around 8:30 p.m., about four miles south of Samson. Helms said a passing motorist stopped and held Mullins until deputies arrived shortly afterward. Helms said there were two other people in the vehicle who witnessed the stabbing.

Helms said deputies have taken at least two knives into evidence, including one he referred to as a pocket knife. Helms also said alcohol was found in the vehicle, but it’s unclear whether anyone was under the influence at the time of the stabbing.

Helms said investigators with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation also assisted deputies in working the county’s first murder for 2010.

Mullins remained held Monday without bond in the Geneva County Jail.

Max Motley, the Geneva County coroner, said he pronounced Elmore dead around 9:17 p.m. Saturday at Wiregrass Hospital. Motley said Elmore appeared to have died from multiple stab wounds about his body, including his stomach, chest and back.

Criminal Details

ODMP.org
June 29, 2010

Officer David Curtis and Police Officer Jeffrey Kocab were shot and killed while attempting to make an arrest at a traffic stop at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and 50th Street.

Officer Curtis stopped a vehicle because it did not have a visible license plate. He called for an additional unit to assist him because a male passenger in the car was wanted on a misdemeanor charge for writing a worthless check. When Officer Kocab arrived, he and Officer Curtis attempted to arrest the suspect. The suspect drew a weapon and shot both officers at close range.

A witness called 911 to report the shooting. Officer Kocab died shortly after arriving at the hospital and Officer Curtis was pronounced dead a few hours later.

The suspect surrendered and was taken into custody four days later. He was charged with five counts of first degree murder when it was determined he had committed three other murders in Tampa. On November 15th, 2013, he was convicted of murdering both officers and the jury subsequently recommended he receive the death penalty. He was formally sentenced to death on May 30th, 2014.

Officer Curtis had served with the Tampa Police Department for three years and eight months and had previously served with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. He is survived by his wife, four young sons, parents, and twin sister.

Criminal Details

PolkSheriff.org
Carrie Eleazer - April 24, 2010

Polk County Sheriff’s Homicide detectives have made an arrest in the homicide of 24-year-old Courtney Bright, charging the father of Ms. Bright’s girlfriend, Jerry Lee Seger, DOB 2/13/70, of Lakeland, with one count First Degree Murder.

According to the affidavit, detectives interviewed several friends and acquaintances of the victim’s after her body was found dead as a result of strangulation in a foreclosed home located at 3510 Knights Station Road in Lakeland. One of the first people the detectives identified and interviewed was Ashley Dunn, DOB 1/24/87, who is currently in the Polk County Jail on a warrant from Jackson County. Detectives learned that Dunn and Bright have been dating for approximately the past three years. Dunn gave the detectives the names and phone numbers of her and Bright’s friends. Dunn also told detectives that she and Bright had been at the house on Knights Stations Road (where Bright’s body was found) in the past to hang out with friends, and because they knew the previous owner of the house through Dunn’s father, Jerry Seger.

Detectives also interviewed Bright’s next-of-kin, her grandmother Mary Bright in Marianna, Florida, who gave them a list of phone numbers that Courtney Bright had most recently used from which to call her. With these phone numbers and the list of names from Courtney Bright’s girlfriend Ashley, detectives were able to follow the last days of Courtney Bright’s life.

On Friday, April 23rd, detectives interviewed a friend of the victim’s, Shawn Thompson, who told them he last heard from the victim on Tuesday, April 20th. Shawn said that Courtney called him and asked him for money and a place to stay. After the phone call, Jerry Seger (Ashley Dunn’s father) and another man, Rabon Strain, came over to Thompson’s house. After discussing with Seger what happened with Ashley and why she was in jail, Seger then asked Thompson if he had heard from Courtney Bright recently. Thompson then told him about his most recent telephone conversation with Courtney, and that he was going to pick her up and give her some money. At that point, Seger told Thompson he would go get the victim instead, and give her a bus ticket to leave town. Thompson did not call Courtney to tell her the change in plans. Thompson did not see Seger again until later that evening, and on April 22nd, but Seger did not mention Courtney on either of those subsequent occasions.

On Friday, April 23rd, detectives also interviewed Rabon Strain, who had accompanied Jerry Seger to Thompson’s house and later when he picked up Courtney Bright on April 20th. Strain said that in his presence Seger made several statements about Courtney, such as that he blamed his daughter Ashley’s arrest on her, and that he never liked her. He also told Strain that he was going to kill Courtney. According to Strain, throughout Tuesday, April 20th, Seger continued to drink alcohol and make spontaneous statements that he was going to kill Courtney. After Seger picked Courtney up on US Hwy 98, Strain asked Seger to take him to a friend’s house, where he was going to attempt to calm Seger down. However, after dropping Strain off, Seger drove away with Courtney in the car.

Jerry Seger called Rabon Strain about one-and-a-half hours after dropping him off at a friend’s house and told him he needed to talk. When Jerry got there, Strain noticed some women’s clothing and shoes, and a wallet, in the back of Jerry’s Ford Explorer. When Strain asked what happened to Courtney, Jerry told him that he had killed her by strangling her, and that he had disposed of her body. Strain tried to get Jerry to tell him where Courtney was so he could go check on her, but Jerry refused. Jerry Seger then told Strain not to tell anyone about what he had done. The victim’s clothes and wallet were also seen by the friend whose house Strain was at, and later by Jerry Seger’s girlfriend when Jerry went home.

The medical examiner determined during the autopsy which was conducted on Friday, April 23rd, that Courtney Bright died sometime during the evening hours of Tuesday, April 20th, or Wednesday, April 21st. She was also found wearing no clothes, except a pair of socks, with a T-shirt over her head.

Based on the sworn witness statements and the evidence recovered at the scene, detectives obtained a warrant for the arrest of 40-year-old Jerry Seger, of 4429-A Stirrup Road in Lakeland, charging him with First Degree Murder, and placed him under arrest on Saturday, April 24, 2010. He has been booked into the Polk County Jail where he will remain under no bond until a first appearance hearing on Sunday.

Jerry Seger has been in the Polk County Jail on 12 previous occasions, on charges such as: Possession of Meth, Possession of Controlled Substance, Possession of Cocaine, Possession of Cannabis, Resisting Arrest, Possession of Paraphernalia, Grand Theft, Forgery, VOP, No Valid DL, and Non-Payment of Child Support.

Criminal Details

The Dothan Eagle
Matt Elofson - Mar 16, 2016

Dothan police are looking for information in connection to the unsolved homicide of Grace Ann Bridges while she worked at the family-owned business “Dedert’s New and Used Furniture.”

Thursday marked the six-year anniversary of when someone fatally shot Bridges after entering the business located at 966 S. Park Ave. in Dothan.

Dothan Police Lt. Will Glover said police investigators continue work on Bridges' unsolved homicide.

Police have learned at least one gunman shot and killed 69-year-old Bridges during a robbery at the furniture store she owned and ran along South Park Avenue near Fortner Street. Police believe she was likely killed between noon and 2:15 p.m. on March 17, 2010.

Glover said an $18,000 reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest in the homicide.

Anyone with information about the fatal shooting can call the Dothan Police Department at 334-615-3000 or Crime Stoppers at 334-793-7000.

Criminal Details

The Dothan Eagle
Matt Elofson - Aug 5, 2010

A Dothan man faces the possibility of life in prison after a jury found him guilty Thursday in what prosecutors called a gang-related murder.

After less than half an hour of deliberation, the jury returned a guilty verdict against Gregory Gross.

Dothan police detectives arrested Gross, 27, and charged him with shooting Christopher Mackey to death on Sept. 22, 2009. Mackey suffered a single fatal gunshot wound while at Frank’s Billiard’s in the Dixie community.

Circuit Court Judge Larry Anderson informed the jury that they could also choose a lesser included offense in the case, which included manslaughter. Gross, who will remain held in the Houston County Jail, will be sentenced next month by Anderson.

Mackey’s mother, Virginia Morris, said the Mackey family will hopefully be able to move on with their lives after Gross’ conviction.

“He should have to pay for killing my only child,” Morris said. “I’m glad it’s over with. I’ll always miss him, but there will still be some closure.”

Morris said her son died trying to help someone else.

“He was trying to stop them from arguing,” she said. “My son wasn’t a fighter.”

Daphne Glanton, Gross’ sister, said she prayed for a not guilty verdict while the jury deliberated.

“I’m just scared because this is a serious charge, and this is his life,” Glanton said. “I know somebody else did it. I’ve seen the system help people, and I’ve seen the system hurt people.”

A jury acquitted Glanton earlier in the week for a drug trafficking charge.

Glanton said Mackey was not killed during a dispute between rival gangs as prosecutors alleged. She said it was a dispute between two men over a missing gold chain.

“It’s not an eastside or westside thing,” she said. “It’s just turned real ugly over a ‘he said-she said’ thing.”

District Attorney Doug Valeska said because of two prior felony convictions, Gross faces a “mandatory” punishment of either 99 years behind bars or life in prison.

“I’m relieved,” Morris said. “Justice has been served.”

Valeska argued to the jury that Gross intended to kill another man as part of a gang dispute.

“Don’t get confused, he wasn’t trying to kill Chris Mackey,” Valeska said. “He was a gang member who had a pistol, and took the law into his own hands. He had the intent, he knew it was loaded and he wanted a confrontation. He got gang justice by trying to get Bubba.”

Valeska said Gross had an argument with another man named Anthony “Bubba” Smith in the pool hall on the night of the shooting.

“Greg Gross took a pistol, and he was all amped up and looking for trouble,” Valeska said. “Bubba was unarmed, and just wanted to be left alone. He ran off into the dead of the night like a thief when he stole Chris’ life. Do the right thing today, and run the sword of justice right through his heart. Chris Mackey deserves justice.”

Attorney Dustin Byrd, who represented Gross, reminded the jury of how David Malone, who was in the bar on the night of the shooting, testified he did not see Gross with a gun.

Valeska countered with arguments that included how Malone admitted to using marijuana on that night, and that two other witnesses said they saw Gross pull the trigger.

Byrd said there were reasons to doubt the prosecution’s case, which included the lack of DNA evidence and no murder weapon was submitted.

“You’ve got an eye witness testimony, and he says Mr. Gross didn’t have a gun,” Byrd said. “What more do you need?”

Criminal Details

ODMP.org
Undated

Officer Dexter Hammond was shot and killed while responding to an officer down call involving a deputy from the Henry County Sheriff's Office.

A Henry County Sheriff's Deputy responded to a call of a man waving a shotgun around outside of his trailer. When that deputy arrived, he was shot and seriously wounded by the suspect.

When Officer Hammond arrived at the scene, the suspect shot and killed him with a rifle. Responding deputies also were fired upon when they arrived. They returned fire, killing the suspect.

Officer Hammond had served in law enforcement for 16 years. He is survived by his wife and son.

Criminal Details

NYDailyNews.com
The Associated Press - Mar. 12, 2009

SAMSON, Ala. - Deputy Joshua Myers was headed home in his police cruiser when he got a call that officers were chasing a man who’d fired on a trooper.

Myers joined in the pursuit of a gunman who turned out to be responsible for the worst mass shooting in Alabama’s history, arriving at a metals plant where officers exchanged gunfire with the shooter.

Myers thought of his young family and called a friend to check on them. The friend told him simply: "Get home now."

That was the first indication that Myers’ own wife and daughter were among the 10 people Michael McLendon killed before taking his own life.

Andrea D. Myers, 31, and 18-month-old Corrine Gracy Myers were gunned down while visiting neighbors across the street.

The deputy hasn’t been allowed back to that blood-soaked porch. Now he’s left to care for a young son and his 4-month-old daughter, Ella Grace, who was injured in the shooting. She was in fair condition at a Florida hospital, awaiting surgery for a leg wound.

"It still seems like I should be able to walk in the house and my wife should be there and my baby girl should be in there climbing on me," Myers said Wednesday, the morning after the shootings. He did not know the shooter. "I never in my life am gonna be able to fully understand it."

Andrea and Corrine Myers died alongside McLendon’s uncle and two of his cousins, on the porch next door to McLendon’s grandmother, who also was killed.

A witness said they had no time to react as their kin wordlessly and expressionlessly pulled the trigger, killing all of them.

The hourlong rampage began when he killed his mother and set her house ablaze, and he would kill three others seemingly at random and spray more than 200 bullets before shooting himself at the Reliable Metals plant in Samson.

Puzzled investigators found several clues as to what set off the rampage in these rural communities near the Florida state line - but the people who might be able to explain are all dead. Authorities hoped a list found in the charred skeleton of McLendon’s home might give them insight into what happened.

"We found a list of people he worked with, people who had done him wrong," said Coffee County District Attorney Gary McAliley.

The lists included a metals plant that had forced him to resign years ago and where he ended up killing himself Tuesday to end the rampage, McAliley said. Also on the list were a sausage factory from which he suddenly quit last week and a poultry plant that suspended his mother, McAliley said.

The pages torn from a spiral notebook included names of co-workers who he felt had wronged him, including one who reported him for not wearing ear plugs, another who made him clean a meat grinder and a supervisor who didn’t like the way he cut pork chops, McAliley said.

A co-worker at the sausage factory, Jerry Hysmith, said McLendon was shy, quiet and laid-back.

"Something had to snap," said Hysmith, 35, who lives in Samson, and worked with McLendon in 2001.

McLendon was briefly employed by the police department in Samson in 2003 and spent about a week and a half at the police academy, dropping out before he received firearms training, said Col. Chris Murphy, director of the Alabama Department of Public Safety. More recently, he worked nearly two years at food manufacturer and distributor Kelley Foods in Elba, about 25 miles north of where he shot most of his victims.

The company didn’t specify what his position was, but said in a statement that he was a "reliable team leader" who was well-liked. McLendon quit last Wednesday.

Though Kelley Foods said he left voluntarily, the company was on the list of those the gunman felt slighted by, McAliley said. So was the Reliable plant, and a Pilgrim’s Pride plant near Enterprise where his mother had worked. The district attorney said the mother had recently been laid off from the plant.

The other victims were identified as McLendon’s mother, Lisa McLendon, 52; his uncle, James Alford White, 55; his cousin, Tracy Michelle Wise, 34; a second cousin, Dean James Wise, 15; and his grandmother, Virginia E. White, 74. Also killed were James Irvin Starling, 24; Sonja Smith, 43; and Bruce Wilson Malloy, 51.

The first killed Tuesday was McLendon’s mother. Authorities said he put her on an L-shaped couch and set her afire. He said McLendon also shot four dogs at the house.

A dozen miles away, he gunned down the other relatives and sent panicked bystanders fleeing and ducking behind cars. His uncle’s wife, Phyllis White, sought refuge at a neighbor’s house after being chased out of her house.

McLendon returned moments later in his car as if he were still looking for her. Neighbor Tom Knowles then made eye contact with him.
"He had cold eyes. There was nothing. I hollered at him. I said, ’Look, boy, I ain’t done nothing to you,"’ Knowles said. McLendon then left for good.

McLendon shot more victims at random as he drove toward the metals plant where he once worked. Smith was struck down as she walked out of a gas station. Malloy was hit while driving. Starling was shot as he walked.

At the Reliable plant, McLendon got out of his car and fired at police with his assault rifle, wounding Geneva Police Chief Frankie Lindsey, authorities said. He then walked inside and killed himself.

Once investigators got a look at the ammunition he was carrying, they feared the bloodshed could have been worse. "I’m convinced he went over there to kill more people. He was heavily armed," said Coffee County Sheriff Dave Sutton.

Back at the house, "the only thing that was alive was the 3-month-old baby," Ella, who lay bleeding, said Knowles. Myers, the deputy, and his neighbors are still trying to absorb the shock.

"I don’t know what else to say," Myers said. "Just keep praying for my baby girl."

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

Criminal Details

NYDailyNews.com
The Associated Press - Mar. 12, 2009

SAMSON, Ala. - Deputy Joshua Myers was headed home in his police cruiser when he got a call that officers were chasing a man who’d fired on a trooper.

Myers joined in the pursuit of a gunman who turned out to be responsible for the worst mass shooting in Alabama’s history, arriving at a metals plant where officers exchanged gunfire with the shooter.

Myers thought of his young family and called a friend to check on them. The friend told him simply: "Get home now."

That was the first indication that Myers’ own wife and daughter were among the 10 people Michael McLendon killed before taking his own life.

Andrea D. Myers, 31, and 18-month-old Corrine Gracy Myers were gunned down while visiting neighbors across the street.

The deputy hasn’t been allowed back to that blood-soaked porch. Now he’s left to care for a young son and his 4-month-old daughter, Ella Grace, who was injured in the shooting. She was in fair condition at a Florida hospital, awaiting surgery for a leg wound.

"It still seems like I should be able to walk in the house and my wife should be there and my baby girl should be in there climbing on me," Myers said Wednesday, the morning after the shootings. He did not know the shooter. "I never in my life am gonna be able to fully understand it."

Andrea and Corrine Myers died alongside McLendon’s uncle and two of his cousins, on the porch next door to McLendon’s grandmother, who also was killed.

A witness said they had no time to react as their kin wordlessly and expressionlessly pulled the trigger, killing all of them.

The hourlong rampage began when he killed his mother and set her house ablaze, and he would kill three others seemingly at random and spray more than 200 bullets before shooting himself at the Reliable Metals plant in Samson.

Puzzled investigators found several clues as to what set off the rampage in these rural communities near the Florida state line - but the people who might be able to explain are all dead. Authorities hoped a list found in the charred skeleton of McLendon’s home might give them insight into what happened.

"We found a list of people he worked with, people who had done him wrong," said Coffee County District Attorney Gary McAliley.

The lists included a metals plant that had forced him to resign years ago and where he ended up killing himself Tuesday to end the rampage, McAliley said. Also on the list were a sausage factory from which he suddenly quit last week and a poultry plant that suspended his mother, McAliley said.

The pages torn from a spiral notebook included names of co-workers who he felt had wronged him, including one who reported him for not wearing ear plugs, another who made him clean a meat grinder and a supervisor who didn’t like the way he cut pork chops, McAliley said.

A co-worker at the sausage factory, Jerry Hysmith, said McLendon was shy, quiet and laid-back.

"Something had to snap," said Hysmith, 35, who lives in Samson, and worked with McLendon in 2001.

McLendon was briefly employed by the police department in Samson in 2003 and spent about a week and a half at the police academy, dropping out before he received firearms training, said Col. Chris Murphy, director of the Alabama Department of Public Safety. More recently, he worked nearly two years at food manufacturer and distributor Kelley Foods in Elba, about 25 miles north of where he shot most of his victims.

The company didn’t specify what his position was, but said in a statement that he was a "reliable team leader" who was well-liked. McLendon quit last Wednesday.

Though Kelley Foods said he left voluntarily, the company was on the list of those the gunman felt slighted by, McAliley said. So was the Reliable plant, and a Pilgrim’s Pride plant near Enterprise where his mother had worked. The district attorney said the mother had recently been laid off from the plant.

The other victims were identified as McLendon’s mother, Lisa McLendon, 52; his uncle, James Alford White, 55; his cousin, Tracy Michelle Wise, 34; a second cousin, Dean James Wise, 15; and his grandmother, Virginia E. White, 74. Also killed were James Irvin Starling, 24; Sonja Smith, 43; and Bruce Wilson Malloy, 51.

The first killed Tuesday was McLendon’s mother. Authorities said he put her on an L-shaped couch and set her afire. He said McLendon also shot four dogs at the house.

A dozen miles away, he gunned down the other relatives and sent panicked bystanders fleeing and ducking behind cars. His uncle’s wife, Phyllis White, sought refuge at a neighbor’s house after being chased out of her house.

McLendon returned moments later in his car as if he were still looking for her. Neighbor Tom Knowles then made eye contact with him.
"He had cold eyes. There was nothing. I hollered at him. I said, ’Look, boy, I ain’t done nothing to you,"’ Knowles said. McLendon then left for good.

McLendon shot more victims at random as he drove toward the metals plant where he once worked. Smith was struck down as she walked out of a gas station. Malloy was hit while driving. Starling was shot as he walked.

At the Reliable plant, McLendon got out of his car and fired at police with his assault rifle, wounding Geneva Police Chief Frankie Lindsey, authorities said. He then walked inside and killed himself.

Once investigators got a look at the ammunition he was carrying, they feared the bloodshed could have been worse. "I’m convinced he went over there to kill more people. He was heavily armed," said Coffee County Sheriff Dave Sutton.

Back at the house, "the only thing that was alive was the 3-month-old baby," Ella, who lay bleeding, said Knowles. Myers, the deputy, and his neighbors are still trying to absorb the shock.

"I don’t know what else to say," Myers said. "Just keep praying for my baby girl."

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

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