Memorials for Victims

Criminal Details

WTVM.com
Undated

Two men have been charged with the murder of Kevin "Tony" Grimes. Grimes was shot several times in August 2007 in his car, at the intersection of Old Opelika Road and Stadium Drive.

Robert Frank Sexton, 21 and Jeffery Aaron Spurlock, 26, both from Phenix City have been charged with capitol murder in Grimes' death.

Sexton appeared in court on Friday after being arrested on Thursday by Phenix City police. Spurlock is currently being held in Montgomery on unrelated charges.

Both have also been charged with second degree aggravated assault of Larry Norton Jr. a passenger in the car Grimes was driving. Norton was shot in the leg and recovered from his injuries.

Ledger-Enquirer
Larry Gierer - Aug. 20, 2007

August 20, 2007

Phenix City police have identified the 25-year-old man found dead in his car.

Kevin Grimes, of Smiths, Ala., was found this morning. Russell County coroner Arthur Sumbry Jr. said he had several gunshot wounds.

Grimes was found on Old Opelika Road off of Stadium Drive. He was pronounced dead at 5:56 a.m.

Phenix City Police are investigating.

Criminal Details

RickeyStokesNews.com
Matt Boster - Nov 15 2011

Today Judge Moulton sentenced James Allen Chumney to 20 years in prison for the murder of his wife Christine Chumney.

Houston County Sheriff’s investigators arrested Chumney back in August 2007 on the murder charge. Investigators charged him with Murder after he allegedly fatally shot his 36-year-old wife. Chumney told investigators shortly after the murder that the “gun went off accidentally three times.”

Mrs. Chumney was shot three times with a 9mm handgun, once in the head, once in the chest and once in the abdomen area. District Attorney Doug Valeska said during the guilty plea hearing. She was shot to death at the couple’s home south of Dothan.

Chumney’s attorney Terry Bullard, the said his client had spent nearly three years after his arrest at Taylor Hardin, a state mental health facility. Chumney had contended at several hearings that he was not competent to stand trial before pleading guilty Wednesday.

According to Chumney’s Attorney Terry Bullard, His client received the minimum sentence due to his mental problems, and that at the time of the shooting he was on pain medication and this contributed to the outcome of that night.

According to Bullard, I’m convinced that at the time of the shooting he did not know what he was doing, because he’s often referred to it as an accident. Yet accident or no I am still guilty Chumney stated.

Criminal Details

The Elba Clipper
March 4, 2010

A national crime assessment organization has decided to review the nearly five-year-old unsolved shooting death of Perry Griffin at a Dothan business.

Richard Walter spoke to media on Tuesday afternoon at the Dothan Police Department about how the Griffin murder will be reviewed by the Vidocq Society, a national organization that reviews cold case crimes, including murders.

“I’m involved in crime assessment,” said Walter, who’s a forensic profiler and co-founder of the society. “Criminals make mistakes, and we’re here to capitalize on those mistakes.”

Two masked men shot 37-year-old Griffin to death as he prepared to go on a business trip for Panhandle Converter Recycling on June 26, 2007.

Dothan Police Lt. Tony Luker, the supervisor of the criminal investigation division (CID), said Griffin was shot during a robbery at the business. Luker said the department sought the help of the society to get a fresh perspective on the Griffin murder investigation.

“We will do anything we can to solve this murder,” Luker said. “Mr. Walter and the Vidocq Society are the top people in their field.”

Walter said the organization typically flies in two detectives to Philadelphia. They then give a detailed presentation on their homicide investigation before the society makes a determination whether to review the case.

“We try to reactivate the case,” Walter said.

Walter said only 27 percent of all criminal cases that go to trial nationwide include physical evidence such as fingerprints and DNA. While in contrast he said 73 percent of criminal cases include circumstantial evidence.

“Many high profile cases are circumstantial cases,” Walter said.

Walter said he’s helping the department free of charge.

“Hopefully they’ll know more when I leave,” Walter said. “I don’t think murder is a recreational game. We’re here to validate human beings, and this is one way we can do it.”

On the day he was killed, Griffin arrived at the company’s North Beverlye Road property around 3 a.m. to make a trip to Mississippi for scrap metal purchases. One of two gunmen shot Griffin to death after he had exited the company truck to close a gate on the property. Police analyzed footage from video surveillance on the property and found both gunmen wore what appeared to be Halloween style masks during the robbery.

Griffin worked about two years as a manager for the company.

Police have said a $30,000 Crime Stoppers reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest in the Griffin murder.

Luker said hopefully an arrest in the Griffin murder will help give the family some closure and healing.

“For that particular person that’s murdered, we are their last voice,” Luker said.

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

ODMP.org
March 1, 2013

There may be new hope in the four and half year old murder case of Dothan businessman Perry Griffin.

At a Tuesday news conference, Dothan Police said there is a forensic profiler from out of state in town for a few days, helping with the case. They hope he will bring new expertise to this baffling crime.

His murder was caught on camera but four and half years later -- police haven't found Perry Griffin's killers. The 37 year old manager of Panhandle Converter and Scrap Co. was leaving the Beverley road business before dawn on June 26, 2007 headed to Mississippi on business with tens of thousands of dollars in cash. He was robbed in the parking lot by two masked men and shot to death. But forensic profile expert Richard Walter says these criminals didn't think everything through. He says he already sees mistakes on the part of the killers and that will eventually help identify them.

Walter is with VIDOCQ -- an elite society based in Pennsylvania that works to solve cold cases. The organization is very selective about the cases they take on and Walter says when they were contacted by angel house about the griffin case, they were interested in helping.

Dothan Police Lt. Tony Luker said VIDOCQ and Walter are known as some of the best in the field of cracking cold cases. Walter came to Dothan hoping to build a profile of the killers that will help police find them.

This isn't the first time the Griffin case has drawn national attention. 'America's Most Wanted' featured the case months after Perry was killed.

Griffin's father told WDHN in a 2011 interview that Police are doing all they can but the lack of viable leads in the case has been frustrating. But Walter says he'll give investigators insight that could finally solve this case saying, "my advice to the perpetrators is to not buy any green bananas."

Crime Stoppers is offering a large reward to anyone who comes forward with information leading to an arrest. Their number is 793-7000.

Criminal Details

No criminal details found.

VocalOnline.org
March 2009 Newsletter
View VOCALOnline.org newsletter

Note: It appears some of this came from the Dothan Eagle but links were broken.

Justice came to town for the Wilkerson family in the voices of Kirke Adams and Bill Filmore when the verdict was read: both defendants - guilty of murder.

A week long trial for two co-defendants, Patricia Wilkerson and Glenn Lee, who gunned down Timothy Wilkerson in the middle of the street in Samson, Alabama on April 29, 2007. It was a week of defense attorneys, Lee Knowles and David Harrison, continually making the victim the one at fault. Tim’s family had to sit and listen to one false statement after another about their father, brother, and cousin and they were not allowed to respond. But Kirke Adams and Bill Filmore spoke for the family and Tim. “We are the voice of Tim. He was a father, son, brother, cousin. He is not here to tell his side. We are here to tell it for him.”

It was a long week for this family but they were strong in their faith and family. They had such an outpouring of support from their churches. Every day members and the pastor attended to lend their support in any way needed.

I would like to take a moment and tell you of Tim’s oldest sister, Nell Parker. Mrs. Parker is one of the strongest, most faithful women I have had the pleasure to be around. While being diagnosed with bone cancer two years ago, she sat in court, every day for eight hours, out of respect for her brother’s memory. You could see the pain in her eyes, but being in court to see justice for her brother’s death was far more important than the pain she had to endure.

The family wanted me to express a special thank you to Kirke Adams, Bill Filmore, and Steven Smith for all their hard work in preparing for the case as well as the trial presentation. (The PowerPoint was awesome at closing.) Well done!

I would also like to thank Judge P.B. McLaughlin who presided over the case. He went out of his way to make sure the trial was fair and impartial. No matter how long a witness took or how many witnesses were called, he never rushed the prosecution or defense. It is not that way with all judges. We do have judges in other counties that try to have both sides rush through their cases. Some are often heard telling them to speed it up they are taking too long with a witness. Thank you Judge McLaughlin for making sure not only the defendants had their day(s) in court, but the victim did also.

Shelly Linderman, Angel House Project Director

Criminal Details

The Dothan Eagle
Lance Griffin - Mar 17, 2010

The widow of a man killed in 2007 by a woman driving under the influence is appealing a judge’s order granting summary judgment to the City of Dothan, which had been accused in a lawsuit of playing a part in her husband’s death.

Circuit Judge Larry Anderson ruled recently that the City of Dothan is immune from liability in the death of Larry Downing. Downing was killed on the night of Jan. 13, 2007, when Tabitha Farmer drove into the parking lot of Southern Family Market (now Bruno’s), passed out, and struck Downing with her car. Downing died a few hours later. Farmer pleaded guilty to murder in the case.

Larry Downing’s widow, Mary Downing, filed a wrongful death suit against Farmer, Southern Family Market and the City of Dothan. She claims the City of Dothan bears responsibility because Dothan police officers stopped Farmer for suspicion of driving under the influence a short time before the fatal crash. However, she was not arrested. Depositions taken in the case offer differing viewpoints over whether Farmer appeared to be intoxicated.

A brief in the case filed by Downing’s attorney, Adam Jones, relies on the testimony of Raemonica Carney, the police officer who pulled Farmer over for suspicion of DUI. Carney indicates Farmer appeared “out of it” and obviously under the influence.

Jones’ brief outlines the chain of events that led to Downing’s death that evening.

According to testimony, a motorist who also happened to be a police dispatcher noticed Farmer driving erratically in the downtown area on the evening of Jan. 13. Testimony in the wrongful death case and in Farmer’s guilty plea in the criminal case indicates she had taken a “hit” from a can of compressed air, an inhalant commonly used to achieve an intense high. Farmer apparently blacked out as a result of inhaling the compressed air. Her vehicle rolled through the intersection of St. Andrews and Main Streets, crossed the intersection, rolled over the curb and onto the sidewalk where it ran over a city park bench.

The off-duty dispatcher contacted her fellow dispatchers and continued to follow Farmer, who was still driving in an erratic manner through downtown. Carney heard a call about a possible DUI in the downtown area and responded to the call although her shift was about to end.

Carney located Farmer’s vehicle and made a traffic stop near North Oates and Newton Streets. Two other officers who had been dispatched, Clark Rice and Darren Pert, also followed Carney as she pulled Farmer over. Carney testified that Farmer seemed “disoriented”

“(Farmer) appeared like she was not in complete control of her faculties as if she was – for lack of a better way of describing it – was just someplace else in her mind,” Carney said during her deposition. Carney went on to say she believed Farmer failed two field sobriety tests and that evidence found in her car (a can of 3M Dust Remover) led her to believe Farmer was driving under the influence.

Clark and Pert, however, disagreed with Carney’s assertions. The two officers, in deposition testimony, said they did not believe they had enough evidence to arrest Farmer, indicating she did not seem to be driving erratically when they observed her. Their judgment was that Farmer passed the field sobriety tests. Another policeman, narcotics officer Tim Miller, was also called to the scene. He states during testimony that he believed no evidence existed to detain Farmer.

She was released, and Jones’ brief indicates she took two more “hits” of compressed air on her way to Southern Family Market, the last one coming as she pulled into the store’s parking lot. She blacked out, and her car continued rolling toward the store, striking Downing, who was returning a grocery cart.

“To say the very least, substantial evidence has been presented so as to create a question of fact for a jury,” Jones wrote in arguing against summary judgment for the city.

Anderson ruled that the city is immune from liability because there is no evidence the officers acted “willfully, maliciously, fraudulently, or in bad faith, or beyond his or her authority, or under mistaken interpretation of the law.”

Jones said the mere fact that there appears to be a stark difference in officers’ recollections should make the case a matter for a jury to decide.

The appeal will be heard by the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals.

Criminal Details

dvwatch.blogspot.com
Unknown

Alabama State Trooper Jennifer Shirley Jacobs, 30, carried a badge and a gun. Neither protected her from being shot and killed by her ex-husband, Ferrell Scott Jacobs, 36.

The shooting occurred on January 11, 2007 when Ms. Jacobs, of Dothan, AL, arrived at the Ozark, AL home of her ex-husband to pick up the couple's 3-year-old son, Preston Eric Jacobs. Mr. Jacobs, apparently upset that his ex-wife had recently been awarded primary custody of the child, shot her and then himself. Ms. Jacobs died at the scene. Mr. Jacobs died a short time later at the hospital.

The Jacobs were married about three and a half years. Mr. Jacobs filed for divorce in May 2006, accusing Ms. Jacobs of extramarital affairs and requesting custody of Preston of the grounds that Ms. Jacobs 'partied too much and did not take care of the child.' (He was awarded temporary custody while Ms. Jacobs completed training at the State Trooper Academy.) Court documents filed on behalf of Ms. Jacobs state that Mr. Jacobs abused her, once 'held a gun to her head and threatened to blow her brains out' and another time killed the family cat in a fit of anger.

Ms. Jacobs graduated from the Alabama State Trooper Academy in June 2006. Before that she served two years as a police officer in Ozark, AL. A friend noted that Ms. Jacobs was "an inspiration to women in a difficult field but even more as a mother." In addition to her son, Preston, Ms. Jacobs left two daughters, Sierra and Savanna Sasser.

WTVM.com
Unknown

A female trooper in Alabama, profiled by News Leader 9 last year is dead after an apparent murder-suicide Thursday night.

Authorities believe Jennifer Jacobs was shot and killed during a domestic dispute at the home of her ex-husband, Farrell Scott Jacobs, who then killed himself.

Trooper Jacobs died on the scene, and her ex-husband died later at a hospital of a head wound.

The shooting happened Thursday night shortly before 7 pm at the man's home in Ozark.

Last year Trooper Jacobs was part of an in depth News Leader 9 report on the shortage of Alabama state troopers. She was one of two women last February who were going through the state trooper academy in Selma.

Jacobs graduated in June and was assigned to the Dothan barracks. She is survived by her three children.

GwinnettDailyPost.com
Staff - Nov. 16, 2006
View on GwinnettDailyPost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE - Police have identified the shooter in a Nov. 10 murder-suicide involving a Sugar Hill couple.

Justin Keith Peacock, 27, shot 29-year-old Angel Welch and then turned the gun on himself, said Cpl. Darren Moloney, spokesman for the Gwinnett County Police Department. Police found Peacock and Welch shot to death in a dark blue SUV backed into the driveway of their home at 5745 Stephens Mill Drive, Moloney said. Moloney said Peacock fired one shot at Welch and one at himself. Multiple 911 calls were made about 8 p.m. when the shots were heard, Moloney said. One of the calls was made by the parents of a friend of the unmarried couple's 6-year-old son, who ran to their house for help, Moloney said. The boy had been inside the SUV with his parents, but Moloney could not say how much of the incident the child witnessed. Welch's 14-year-old daughter was not home at the time of the shooting, Moloney said. Moloney said both children are now in the care of Welch's family. As for the couple's history, both were in violation of protective orders against each other by being together that night, said Stacey Bourbonnais, spokeswoman for the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Department. Bourbonnais said Peacock and Welch both filed for temporary protective orders against each other Oct. 23 after an altercation, and a judge granted one-year protective orders against each other on Nov. 1, a little more than a week before the shootings. Peacock also had a previous battery charge from December 2005, she said.

Criminal Details

AlaStateNews.blogspot.com
December 2, 2011

A Henry County jury found Anthony Mitchell Money guilty of misdemeanor criminally negligent homicide on Wednesday. Henry County Judge Derek Peterson sentenced Money to serve one year in the Henry County Jail. The 25-year-old Headland man was originally arrested on a felony manslaughter charge for the death of Mary Deanna Curry, his girlfriend at the time, by Henry County Sheriff’s deputies. Records indicate the deputies arrested Money after a Henry County grand jury returned an indictment against him in June 2009.

The victim was 20 years old when she died on Oct. 16, 2006 from the injuries she suffered when she was struck by a vehicle near the intersection of Henry County roads 53 and 12 near Headland around 11:30 p.m. Curry died after the couple had been in a physical altercation when they pulled off to the side of the roadway where the domestic dispute continued, according to District Attorney Doug Valeska. “I argued because of the fight she was dazed and that he did not try to move her. If she was dazed she’s not going to see a car coming,” Valeska said. “He left her lying in the middle of the road and did nothing. She was unable to get out of the road because he assaulted her. I call it woman slaughter. I argued if you loved someone you’d make every effort to get them out of the road.”

Curry suffered a ruptured liver and spleen, along with a broken hip and ribs according to the pathologist that testified at the trial . The pathologist also testified about finding bruising around the neck and a black eye, evidence of a physical altercation. There was also evidence the motorist didn’t see Curry in the roadway, and made an effort to slow the vehicle down, said Valeska.

Money’s lawyers, Dustin Fowler and Stephen Etheredge, asked the court for an appeal bond and Judge Peterson said he’d set a bond on Friday. Valeska asked the court to revoke Money’s probation for a prior felony third-degree burglary conviction, after the jury’s guilty verdict,. He said Money received probation for a 10-year sentence on the burglary charge. Judge Peterson made no decision on the request, taking it under advisement.

Money also has two other unrelated sexual assault related charges pending against him, according to Valeska. Fowler or Etheredge, Money's lawyers could not be reached for comment.

Criminal Details

The Dothan Eagle
Matt Elofson - Oct 13, 2009

The last of three people charged in a murder at a Dothan nightclub pleaded guilty Tuesday to his involvement in the August 2006 slaying.

Albert Lee McLeod, 25, of Paige Court, Ozark, pleaded guilty to felony manslaughter for his role in the shooting death of Byron Belser, 21, at the Champagne Lounge.

District Attorney Doug Valeska said Circuit Court Judge Lawson Little sentenced McLeod to serve 20 years in prison for the manslaughter charge.

Valeska said McLeod was charged as the get-away driver in the shooting. Valeska said McLeod did not go inside the nightclub, but the murder weapon was found inside his car. Belser died from a single gunshot wound to his leg.

Dothan police investigators arrested McLeod on Aug. 19, 2006, and charged him with felony capital murder during a robbery.

A jury found the shooter, Kenneth McKinnis, guilty last October of capital murder for Belser’s death and a judge affirmed their recommendation to sentence him to death.

McLeod faces two to 20 years in prison for the class B felony of manslaughter.

A third person, Kyle McIntosh, 24, of Ozark, pleaded guilty last year to a felony manslaughter charge for his involvement in the shooting. Valeska said McIntosh was sentenced to serve 15 years in prison.

Dothan Weekend Shooting Update

WTVY.COM
Erika Kurre | Posted: Mon 7:52 PM, Jul 31, 2006 | Updated: Mon 9:01 PM, Jul 31, 2006
View WTVY.com

It all happened in a downtown area commonly referred to as "Dixie." An argument broke out inside "Southern Nights" lounge but quickly moved outside. That's when two groups of people began shooting at one another.

The man who was killed was Rod-Rickys Tywon Williams. Now authorities are in search of 20-year-old Solomon Mikail Knight because they believe he could have fired the fatal round.

While the search is still on for Knight, three others are wanted for questioning.

Twenty-year-old Dametrius Roshaad Roberts, 20-year-old Jonathan Jerome Berry and 20-year-old Jimmy Lamar Berry are all being searched for by the Dothan Police Department.

Dothan police need your help in locating these men. They'll also want information regarding the shooting and the death of Mr. Williams.

Murder Trials Begin for Defendants Charged With Killing Same Man

WTVY.COM
Lisa Blackwell | Posted: Mon 6:59 PM, May 19, 2008 | Updated: Mon 7:16 PM, May 19, 2008
View WTVY.com

Two murder trials got underway on Monday at the Houston County Courthouse.

Both defendants are charged with the murder of the same victim.

Twenty-one-year-old Rod-Ricky's Tywon Williams was gunned down at Southern Night's Lounge back in July of 2006.

Now, two men stand trial for his murder.

Friends and family members split their time between two courtrooms as the murder trials started of Soloman Knight and Demetrius Roberts.

Both men are charged with the murder of Rod-Ricky's Tywon Williams.

Authorities allege Soloman was the trigger man and Roberts provided the weapon.

Roberts' friends and family say they hope the jury will take into consideration that his father died a violent death and his mother is in prison.

Mary Pugh, Robert's aunt said, “I just hope that they look into his past and see that he's a good kid, he's not just one of those violent people that love to get in trouble all the time. He was very influenced by some people.”

The victim's family shuttled between both courtrooms as witnesses took the stands.

Jaquala Wilson, William's sister-in-law said, “We as a family would like to just have justice served and just to bring peace toward the defendant; just put it in God's hands, let his will and his word be done.”

Prosecuting Attorney Arthur Medley says that it was a concerted effort to hold both trials at the same time.

It allowed witnesses from out of town to make just one trip.

This is the first time anyone can remember co-defendants’ murder trials occurring at the same time in Houston County.

The juries in both trials are expected to begin deliberations on Tuesday.

None found.

Criminal Details

The Dothan Eagle
Matt Elofson - Aug 22, 2008

A Headland man apologized to nearly a dozen people Friday, moments after he pleaded guilty to the murder of their relative.

Johnny Thomas, 31, pleaded guilty to the shooting death of Larry Corbitt on April 11, 2006.

“I’m sorry, ya'll did make me part of your family,” Thomas said. “I don’t know what went over me that week. I pray one day that ya'll do forgive me.”

Circuit Court Judge Lawson Little sentenced Thomas to the maximum sentence on multiple felony charges, including murder. The sentences for all the charges will be served concurrently not consecutively. Thomas pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree assault, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree domestic violence, along with murder.

Mary Hayes, Corbitt's sister, testified at the hearing, and said Thomas was no longer part of their family.

“Most of all, Johnny, we loved you, and we tried to make you a part of our family,” Hayes said. “Someday God is going to let me forgive you.”

Corbitt, 53, of Pinckard, was fatally shot and a 52-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy were injured during the shooting, according to a previous Dothan Eagle report. Police said Corbitt was a cousin of Thomas’ wife, Latonya Thomas.

Thomas’ stepson, Chuckie, was shot in the buttocks when Thomas shot through a door. The woman, identified by neighbors as Juanita McKay, was shot in the arm and Corbitt in the back and shoulder area, according to previous reports.

Criminal Details

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Criminal Details

The Dothan Eagle
Matt Elofson - Oct 28, 2010

More than five years after her daughter’s brutal death at the hands of a former boyfriend, Rolande Dean hopes her daughter’s death will help other victims of domestic violence.

A Houston County jury convicted Heath McCray of beating, stabbing and suffocating 27-year-old Brandy Bachelder to death on Aug. 8, 2005. McCray, 41, convicted of capital murder, has been on death row for four years.