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MontgomeryAdvertiser.COM
Andrew J. Yawn - Dec. 13, 2017

Centennial Hill shooter pleads guilty, apologizes to victims' mothers

Four years after Kimberle Johnson, Timnarius Hamilton and local rapper Glenn “Doe B” Thomas were fatally wounded in a shootout at a Montgomery nightclub, Darius Thomas, one of three arrested after the shooting, pleaded guilty to three counts of murder.

The 29-year-old Thomas accepted a plea deal for the charges Tuesday, the second day of his trial, after originally being charged with capital murder, two alternate capital murder charges and several assault charges for those who were shot but survived the Dec. 28, 2013, shooting at Centennial Hill Bar and Grill.

In front of Circuit Court Judge Greg Griffin and the mothers of the three victims, Thomas listened to opening statements and one witness’ testimony before accepting the plea offer.

He then asked to apologize to the three mothers.

“He spoke to me first and had tears rolling down his face and wanted to apologize,” said Barbara Green, whose daughter Johnson who had just turned 21 years old the Christmas Day before the shooting. “The greatest part was just letting him know that I forgave him from the very first day that his happened. I had to have that for me to move on.”

Thomas then apologized to Torian Hamilton and Shirley Thomas, the mothers of Hamilton and Doe B, respectively.

"It was a big weight off of my shoulders and me being able to forgive him," Thomas said.

Afterward the mothers asked if they could hug the man who had accepted responsibility for the deaths of their children.

Thomas accepted.

“It takes a bigger person than I am to forgive someone for killing their child but I’ve seen it happen time and time again,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Daryl Bailey Wednesday.

Attempts to reach Hamilton were not successful. Green said that despite accepting Thomas’ apology, she still wanted him to serve the “maximum sentence.” A sentencing hearing for Thomas will be held in January. The two others arrested in connection to the shooting, Jason McWilliams and Taboris Mock, will also head to trial in 2018.

After four years of mourning and seeking closure, Green hopes McWilliams and Mock will also plead guilty.

“Both families are hurting, but we just want this to be over,” Green said.

In a phone call Wednesday, Thomas’ fiancee LaQuinta Stewart maintained that Thomas only accepted responsibility for starting the shootout by arguing with Doe B, a Montgomery rapper on the rise who signed to T.I.’s Grand Hustle Records label in 2012.

According to the January 2014 bond hearing testimony from Montgomery Police Department Detective Andy Magnus, the shooting escalated from a dispute between Thomas and Doe B as well as a separate dispute between McWilliams and Doe B involving a bag of money and jewelry.

“He didn’t accept the guilty plea saying he shot and killed those people, but he accepted the fact that him arguing with Doe B led to the shooting of those innocent people,” Stewart said. “The girl Kim and Tim, they were innocent. He pleaded out to give justice to those two innocent people’s parents. I do send my condolences to families that lost loved ones and to the victims who were shot and lived. It was a tragic situation.”

Thomas was also shot at Centennial Hill, the bullet going through his chest and out his side, she said.

Thomas has been in jail since he was arrested in Jan. 2014. Stewart, now 26, was four months pregnant at the time and now has five children with Thomas, two of them step-children.

“He’s got a child he’s never touched before,” Stewart said.

Still, she said she was proud of Thomas for accepting the plea.

“I don’t feel any type of way about him pleading guilty, because he could have died in that club that night,” Stewart said. “I thank the Lord for keeping him here for us. I’m just glad everything is over with, and I do thank the families for accepting his apology. They didn’t have to. But it took a lot for him to do that.”

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WSFA.COM
Jennifer Horton - Dec. 14, 2017

2013 Montgomery murder victim's mom forgives killer in court

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - Families of the murder victims in the 2013 Centennial Hill Bar and Grill shooting experienced justice this week for the first time in nearly four years.

Barbara Green has mourned the loss of her daughter, Kimberle Johnson, every waking moment since she was killed in December 2013, days after her 21st birthday. Tuesday, she felt the early stages of closure as Darius Thomas, the first of three defendants went to trial.

“I prayed he would take a plea”, Green said of Thomas. “A plea was presented to him last week at the pretrial hearing, and he didn't take it.”

Green said she made constant eye contact with Thomas during the trial proceedings. Thomas was indicted on capital murder for two people, for her daughter's death and the death of Glenn Thomas – also known as local rapper Doe B, reckless murder for the death of Timnarious Hamilton, two counts of murder, and three counts of first-degree assault.

“He always looked at me. He knew Kim was an innocent bystander,” Green said of Thomas.

After the jury was seated and the first witness left the stand, Thomas had a change of heart and pleaded guilty to three counts of murder. He asked to speak to the victims' families.

“Tears began to roll down his face,” Green remembered. “He said he was sorry that he took my child and for what he had done.”

At that, the grieving mother shared what she'd been waiting nearly four years to say.

“I told him I forgave him and I had forgiven him since day one,” Green said. “I have to have peace. I have to have serenity in my soul and my spirit to move on with life.”

Green said she never wanted to do harm or hurt any of the defendants. On Tuesday she felt compassion.

“All I wanted to do was to grab him and hold him,” she said.

Christmas Day would have been Kim's 25th birthday. This week after the plea Green felt she was able to put up her tree and decorate for Christmas.

“I wake up thinking of Kim. I think of her all day and I think of her as I go to sleep,” the mom said. “This year on Christmas we will go out to the cemetery and put happy birthday balloons on her headstone and celebrate her birthday.”

Green credits her faith in God for the strength to go on, describing the loss of her daughter as a spiritual journey.

“Prior to Kim passing, my prayer was ‘God I give her back to you,’” Green explained. “I don't know why I said that because she was living, and ten days later she was gone. Kim is in a better place. She was my only child and she meant everything in this world to me outside my relationship with Christ.”

Thomas will be sentenced in January. The trials for Jason McWilliams and Taboris Mock haven’t been rescheduled.

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TroyMessenger.com
Jeb Sharp - December 26, 2013

Three murders shock Pike County

On November 9, the entire Goshen community was saddened when Sammy Jackson, an 18-year-old senior at Goshen High School, was allegedly killed by his own father, Sammy D. Jackson.

According to Pike County Sheriff Russell Thomas, a domestic dispute from the night before spilled over to the next morning. “There had been an argument last night between the husband and wife that carried over to the morning,” Thomas said. “This morning, the father took a 12-guage shotgun and moved to the rear of the trailer where he fatally shot his 18-year-old son. He then shot his 16-year-old son who escaped through an open window, which probably saved his life.”

The 16-year-old son was injured, but ultimately survived the encounter. The Pike County’s Sheriff’s Department took Sammy D. Jackson in to custody and charged him with one count of murder and one count of attempted murder.

Following Sammy Jackson’s death, the Goshen community rallied around his family and remembered Jackson for the great young man he was. “He was a guy that was just the perfect teammate,” Goshen football head coach Bart Snyder said. “He was always doing what ever it took to get better, and was always encouraging the guys around him to do it the right way. Sammy Jackson was a fantastic young man to be around, and I know I am lucky to have coached him.”

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DothanEagle.com
Matt Elofson - Jul 26, 2015

Troy father found competent in murder of teenage son

A judge has found a Troy dad competent to stand trial for the murder and attempted murder of his two sons during a domestic dispute.

Court records show Pike County Circuit Court Judge Shannon Clark found 46-year-old Sammy Dee Jackson could assist his defense counsel with a reasonable degree of understanding along with declaring him competent to stand trial.

Investigators with the Pike County Sheriff’s Office arrested Jackson on Nov. 9, 2013, and charged him with felony murder and felony attempted murder in connection to a fatal shooting.

Court records revealed investigators believed Jackson used a .12-gauge Mossberg shotgun during the fatal shooting.

Records show the following unfolded to result in the felony charges filed against Jackson. The shooting stemmed from a domestic dispute Jackson had with his then-wife.

The couple argued over money, which included Jackson asking to use her debit card to go to the store to buy beer and wine. She refused, and Jackson retrieved his shotgun from the bedroom.

Their sons, 18-year-old Sammy Demondrea Jackson and 16-year-old Shyhem Jackson, tried to prevent their father from getting to their mother as he came through the house. As Sammy Dee Jackson came through the den of the home he shot his 18-year-old son in the stomach and then shot his 16-year-old son in the left thigh. The gunfire occurred at point blank range leaving Sammy Demondrea Jackson dead and his younger brother seriously wounded.

Sammy Dee Jackson posted bail totaling $150,000 after his arrest in 2013. Records show he hired attorneys Steven Douglas Eversole and Sam Perry Dixon III from the Eversole law firm in Birmingham.

The case will be prosecuted by District Attorney Tom Anderson and the Pike County District Attorney’s Office.

Clark instructed all parties involved in the Jackson cases to be ready at the Pike County Courthouse on Wednesday Aug. 5 for jury selection in the murder trial. The case was set for trial on Monday Aug. 10.

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RickeyStokesNews.com
Rickey Stokes - October 18, 2013 5:03 PM

VICTIMS IDENTIFIED - Apparent Murder - Suicide: BREAKING NEWS: Incident On Going In Malvern

MALVERN: Multiple law enforcement officers and emergency vehicles on College Street ion Malvern.

The area is sealed. Geneva County Sheriff Deputies, Alabama State Troopers, Houston County Sheriff Deputies, and Slocomb Rescue are on the scene.

We are getting mixed information on the situation. UNCONFIRMED to the exact details of the situation.

Matt Boster is responding for RSN.

UPDATED: Matt is on the scene. Multiple Law Enforcement Officers are on the scene. Geneva County Sheriff Greg Ward is also on the scene. We will update soon.

UPDATED By MARTY: I did call Tony Helms Chief Deputy with the Geneva County Sheriff's Office. He advised that the woman who lives at the residence had not shown up for work. The lady was spoken to last night. The daughter went to check on her and the daughter thought she may have heard a gunshot while attempting to check on her. Tony Helms advised that no one knows anything at this time. We will update if further information develops.

UPDATED @ 5:58 PM

Dothan Police Department has dispatched the bomb truck to the scene to use the robot on the scene. The bomb robot is equipped with video equipment where it can be remotely sent into a situation and viewed from a safe distance in order to keep manpower safe.

We will update.

UPDATED @ 9:43 PM

At 7:26 PM Dothan Police robot breached the door of the house. Media members heard what they thought was flash bangs, but it was the robot breaching the door of the residence.

Through the robot and video surveillance of the robot, law enforcement officers were able to locate the male body in the residence. He was deceased.

The Special Response Team Officers then entered the residence where a female body was found inside the residence.

There is no indication of any outside foul play. Geneva County Sheriff Deputies are conducting a detailed investigation into the facts and circumstances. The crime scene is worked in detail, as all crime scenes.

However, at this time all indication is the deaths are the result of a murder - suicide.

The Geneva County Sheriff Department and Geneva County Sheriff Greg Ward were assisted by Alabama State Troopers, Houston County Sheriff Department, Dothan Police Department and Geneva County Coroner Hagler Ward. Also on the scene, Slocomb Rescue and Malvern Rescue.

Geneva County 911 Central, who handles most agencies emergency communications in Geneva County, job well done in the communications and emergency operation communications.

Sheriff Ward said the investigation will continue and thanks to all agencies for their assistance. His prayers are with the family of a tragic situation.

UPDATED @ 10:49 PM

The victims are identified as Russell and Sheila Burge of College Street in Malvern. This came from family members and not law enforcement sources. Ms. Burge was 57 years old and we do not know the exact age of Mr. Burge.

Prayers go out to the family of the Burge family. We have walked in your shoes. Always look up. Your community, family, friends and church family will be lifting you up in prayers

Source: View RickeyStokesNews.com Article

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Murder-Suicide.blogspot.com
TSC - Monday, October 21, 2013

Police Robot Locates Bodies Of Couple

"MALVERN, AL — A Geneva County couple was found dead in their home late Friday, the apparent victims of murder/suicide. Family members identified them as Russell and Sheila Burge. Public records show Sheila was 57 years old while Russell’s age was not immediately known.

"Law enforcement surrounded the home in Malvern about 5:00 p.m. Friday after a person, believed to be a family member, heard a shot while approaching the home. The bodies were found a few hours later after a mechanical robot was dispatched inside the home. Officers did not immediately enter the College Street residence because they were not sure whether a hostage situation existed. "Family members at the scene said the couple had recent domestic issues. One member said had been depressed the past few weeks and may have tried to take his life a few days ago. That was not immediately confirmed by law enforcement. "Geneva County Sheriff Greg Ward said investigators will remain on the scene for a period of time though there is no reason to believe anyone else was involved in the double shooting. It’s believed that Russell killed his wife then turned the gun on himself."

From dothanfirst.com

Source: View Murder-Suicide.blogspot.com Article

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DothanEagle.com
Staff Reports - Oct 22, 2013 Updated Oct 22, 2013

Malvern murder-suicide inquiry closed

Geneva County Sheriff Greg Ward called the investigation into a fatal shooting last week in the Malvern community a murder-suicide.

Ward said sheriff’s investigators determined 56-year-old Russell Burge fatally shot his wife, 57-year-old Sheila Burge, sometime Thursday night. He also said investigators learned Russell Burge apparently turned the gun on himself the next afternoon, right around the same time the couple’s daughter arrived at the home.

“When she was beating on the window she heard the gunshot, and that was Friday afternoon,” Ward said.

Geneva County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the couple’s home, located on East College Street in Malvern, late Friday afternoon. Law enforcement officers from several agencies responded.

Police gained entry to the home with a robot and several explosive devices to open two locked doors of the home. Russell Burge and his wife were found in separate bedrooms.

Ward said there was no history of calls to the Geneva County Sheriff’s Office from the residence.

“We don’t know why, apparently there were issues,” Ward said. “We’re not getting much from the family other than he’s talked about doing this. He’s talked about doing a murder-suicide.”

Ward said the investigation into the shooting is closed, calling it a murder-suicide.

Source: View DothanEagle.com Article

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DothanEagle.com
Matt Elofson - Apr 9, 2015 Updated Apr 9, 2015

Dothan woman convicted of manslaughter

A Houston County jury convicted a Dothan woman of manslaughter late Thursday afternoon for the fatal stabbing death of her boyfriend in 2013.

Jurors deliberated for about two and a half hours before deciding to convict 37-year-old Tareka Green Stoddart of manslaughter. She had been on trial for murder, but jurors decided to convict her of the lesser charge.

Following her conviction, Circuit Court Judge Larry Anderson sentenced Stoddart to serve 16 years in prison.

Stoddart said she fatally stabbed 41-year-old Chad Thomas Clayton in the chest with a screwdriver in self-defense in the 800 block of North Cherry Street on July 19, 2013. He died from his injuries about two weeks later.

“We were tussling back and forth,” Stoddart testified on Thursday. “It was a fight.”

Stoddart said the stabbing happened because she was scared and defending herself during an argument.

Houston County District Attorney Doug Valeska asked Stoddart to demonstrate to the jury how she stabbed Clayton by using a pen.

“I was protecting my space,” she said. “I told him not to come any closer to me.”

Valeska questioned Stoddart about how she happened to be carrying a screwdriver at the time of the argument.

“I always (carry) something because I am afraid of dogs,” she said.

At the conclusion of Stoddart’s testimony, lawyers made their closing arguments before the jury started their deliberations. The jury had four options as they deliberated - guilty of murder, manslaughter or felony first-degree assault, or not guilty.

Dothan police investigators arrested Stoddart on Aug. 2, 2013, and charged her with felony murder. Stoddard has been held at the Houston County Jail on $500,000 bail since her arrest.

Valeska argued Stoddart murdered her former boyfriend, and her past history of violence with him showed she had the intent. Valeska reminded jurors of evidence, which showed Stoddart had stabbed and cut Clayton on three prior occasions before the fatal screwdriver stabbing. No charges were ever filed in the other stabbings.

Valeska also told jurors they never once saw Stoddart show any remorse during any of her testimony in court. Valeska called Stoddart cold and calculated because she fled the scene of the argument and didn’t stay to offer her former boyfriend help.

“She took his life and killed him, and then she ran off in the dead of night and left him,” Valeska said. “The family will get justice today when you convict her of murder.”

Attorney Arthur Medley, who represented Stoddart, told jurors his client’s former boyfriend died from an unintentional killing. He also said his client and her former boyfriend had been drinking that night.

“This wasn’t an intentional murder. It’s one singular puncture wound as the two of them were fighting,” Medley said. “We’re not disputing she stabbed him. She defended herself.”

Valeska questioned why, if Stoddart acted in self-defense, she didn’t stay and actually tell that story to police instead of leaving the scene.

“He paid the ultimate price because he was too good,” Valeska said. “This is murder. She did it, and the past history shows it.”

Source: View DothanEagle.com Article

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DothanEagle.com
Matt Elofson - Apr 24, 2016 Updated Apr 24, 2016

Dothan woman convicted in fatal stabbing wanted

A Dothan woman remains wanted for bail revocation in connection to the fatal stabbing of her former boyfriend.

Tareka Green Stoddart, 38, has been wanted for over a month after a local judge revoked her appeal bond for the felony manslaughter charge a jury found her guilty of last year.

Houston County Sheriff’s Capt. Bill Rafferty confirmed deputies were still looking for Stoddart.

Dothan police arrested Stoddart on Aug. 2, 2013, and charged her with felony murder in the stabbing death of 41-year-old Chad Thomas Clayton.

A jury found Stoddart guilty of a lesser felony manslaughter charge in May of 2015.

Stoddart said she fatally stabbed Clayton in the chest with a screwdriver in self-defense in the 800 block of North Cherry Street on July 19, 2013. He died from his injuries about two weeks later.

District Attorney Doug Valeska argued at trial how Stoddart murdered her former boyfriend, and her past history of violence with him showed she had the intent. Valeska reminded jurors of evidence, which showed Stoddart had stabbed and cut Clayton on three prior occasions before the fatal screwdriver stabbing. No charges were ever filed in the other stabbings.

Circuit Court Judge Larry Anderson sentenced Stoddart to serve 16 years in prison, but agreed to an appeal bond in the case while the Alabama Criminal Court of Appeals considered her appeal.

Stoddart was released from custody after she posted a $20,000 appeal bond in June 2015.

Court records show Anderson issued an order to revoke the appeal bond on Feb. 9, 2016, granting a request from the Houston County District Attorney’s Office. The request cited Stoddart’s failure to report to the probation office for weekly drug screenings in accordance with her appeal bond requirements.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Tareka Stoddart can call the Houston County Sheriff’s Office at 334-677-4808.

Source: View DothanEagle.com Article

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DothanEagle.com
Staff Reports - Apr 16, 2013 Updated Oct 26, 2016

Dispute over girl led to fatal Abbeville stabbing

ABBEVILLE -- Authorities say a dispute involving a girl led to the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old male over the weekend in Abbeville.

Henry County Sheriff William Maddox cited a dispute over a girl as part of the motive in the murder of Emmett Tyric Leqwaun Brown. Maddox also said some type of gang affiliation was likely involved, though he didn’t expand on how.

Investigators with the Henry County Sheriff’s and Abbeville Police Task Force arrested three teens on murder charges for their alleged involvement in the killing. All three suspects were released from custody after each posted $150,000 bail.

Investigators charged 17-year-old Gregory Spann, 17-year-old Marquise Barwick and 18-year-old Montrez Brown with murder in the stabbing death of Tyric Brown. Court records show Abbeville police charged all three teens with using a knife to cut and stab Tyric Brown to death on Saturday.

Henry County Judge Derek Peterson set the bail in all three cases, and specifically forbid Spann from going within 1,000 feet of the victim’s home or family.

Peterson learned during Spann’s first appearance that Spann lived across the street from the victim. Spann’s father, who attended the hearing, told the court he’d find somewhere else for his son to stay while awaiting trial on the murder charge. Spann’s father also told the court he plans to hire an attorney to represent his son at trial.

A woman could be heard crying as Peterson held Spann’s first appearance inside a packed courtroom Tuesday afternoon at the Henry County Courthouse in Abbeville.

Maddox said the stabbing death came as a result of an altercation at a block party near the intersection of Crawford and Phillips streets on Saturday night.

According to court records, authorities believe this is what happened

A fight originally started at a building in the 200 block of Phillips Street between Tyric Brown and Spann. Brown then left that area and went to the area of the intersection of Crawford and Phillips streets to “calm down” and “get away from the situation.”

Spann, along with a large crowd, followed Brown to the intersection where he “reengaged” the altercation.

It was at this point where Montrez Brown and Barwick allegedly got involved in the fight. Records show Montrez Brown allegedly held Tyric Brown down and began hitting him with a belt, while both Barwick and Spann allegedly struck the victim with closed fists. Spann then pulled out a knife and, while Montrez Brown continued to allegedly hold down the victim, he began cutting and striking the victim with the knife. As Tyric Brown fell to the ground, the suspects, along with the large crowd gathered around the fight, ran from the area.

Henry County Coroner Derek Wright said he pronounced 17-year-old Tyric Brown dead at Southeast Alabama Medical Center. He said Brown was taken to the state Department of Forensic Sciences for an autopsy on Monday.

“There were multiple cuts and stab wounds on him, mainly his arms and torso,” Wright said.

Wright said Tyric Brown apparently lived at a home on Crawford Street.

Maddox said the violence at the block party also resulted in three other people getting injured, one of whom he said included Spann. He said Spann underwent surgery to mend an arm injury while at Flowers Hospital. He said Spann was arrested Monday evening after he was released from the hospital.

Maddox also said two other people were stabbed during the altercation, including a 13-year-old girl and one of the other suspects. Maddox also said all four parties involved in the altercation are related to each other.

How the other three stabbing victims suffered their injuries remains under investigation, Maddox said.

“Once we find out more about what happened, there could be some more arrests,” Maddox said.

Maddox said the stabbings likely occurred late Saturday night about 10 blocks outside downtown Abbeville.

In the wake of the fatal stabbing, Maddox said Abbeville High School was placed on lockdown on Tuesday morning for a couple of hours for safety reasons.

Maddox said 911 dispatch received calls that kids reportedly were bringing weapons, to possibly include guns and/or knives, to school for some type of retaliation. He said the reports were made around 7 a.m. and authorities promptly started searching the school by 7:30 a.m.

Maddox said officers from the Abbeville Police Department and the Henry County Sheriff’s Office worked together in searching the school.

“We had a soft lockdown and searched all the kids' backpacks and purses just to make sure there wasn’t any guns and knives in the school,” Maddox said. “It was everything we had because it was 700 some students. We got through it in two and half hours. We did it just for safety reasons.”

Source: View DothanEagle.com Article

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WSFA.com
Staff Reports - April 16, 2013 at 2:03 AM CDT - Updated July 11 at 2:46 PM

3 charged in stabbing death of teen in Abbeville

ABBEVILLE, AL (WSFA) - The Henry County Sheriff's Department says a total of three people are now charged in the death of a teenager on Saturday, April 13.

Abbeville residents Marquise Barwick, 17, Gregory Spann, 17, and Montrez Brown, 18, are each charged with murder in the stabbing death of Tyric Brown, 17.

The incident occurred around 11 p.m. that evening. Officers were called to a disturbance at a party taking place at 200 Phillips Street in Abbeville.

Initial estimates have a crowd of approximately 200 people, mostly underage/juveniles, in attendance and underage alcohol consumption was taking place at the party.

Police says as a result of an altercation at the intersection of Phillips Street and Crawford Street, two juveniles were hospitalized for their injuries and Brown later died of his injuries.

Barwick and Brown had their initial appearances in court Tuesday morning and their bonds were set at $150,000 each.

Spann is expected to have his first court appearance later in the day.

Copyright 2013 WSFA 12 News. All rights reserved.

Source: View WSFA.com Article

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DothanEagle.com
Matt Elofson - Oct 6, 2016 Updated Feb 19, 2019

Montrez Brown acquitted in stabbing death of Abbeville teen

An Abbeville man became a free man Thursday, released from custody after a Henry County jury found him not guilty of a felony murder charge.

Attorney Arthur Medley said a jury found his client, 21-year-old Montrez Doran Brown, not guilty after around 5.5 hours of deliberation.

The trial started Monday at the Henry County Courthouse in Abbeville, and was held in front of Circuit Court Judge Larry Anderson.

Investigators with the Henry County Sheriff’s and Abbeville Police Investigative Unit arrested Brown on April 14, 2013, and charged him with felony murder. Police charged Brown with stabbing 17-year-old Tyric Brown in Abbeville. Court records show Abbeville police charged three teens for their roles in the stabbing death of Tyric Brown. Montrez Brown was 18 years old at the time of the killing.

Gregory Spann, 21, of Abbeville, was convicted of felony murder last year for his role. He later received a 40-year prison sentence. A similar murder charge remains pending against 21-year-old Marquise Barwick.

“This was a fight, it was a bloody gruesome fight,” Medley said of the killing.

Medley said one of the points he made to the jury included how DNA evidence presented at trial came back with matches to both the victim and the co-defendant, Spann, from blood found on the victim’s shoes. He also argued to the jury how DNA evidence from blood found on Spann’s shoes also came back matching Spann, the victim and an unknown third party. He also reminded jurors how Spann was injured during the fight, and hospitalized.

“The state’s version was Montrez had a belt around Tyric’s neck so Gregory could stab him,” Medley said.

Medley said that’s why the shoes in evidence became so relevant because it showed who was at the scene of the fight and who wasn't. He also said the autopsy indicated no neck injuries to the victim.

“If there’s no injury to the neck then obviously Montrez didn’t have him around the neck, and it shows their eyewitness was lying,” Medley said.

Medley said the defense did not contest Montrez Brown was on the same street on the night of the killing, but just was not part of the fight that killed Tyric Brown. He said DNA collected from physical evidence at the case excluded his client from even being at the scene of the fight.

“Myself, and on behalf of Montrez and his family, would like express our deepest sympathy to the family of Tyric. It’s horrible for any parent to have to bury their own child,” Medley said. “Our position is and the evidence supported it, that Montrez didn’t do this. But it’s still a horrible situation.”

Source: View DothanEagle.com Article

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DothanEagle.com
Matt Elofson - Aug 20, 2015 Updated Sep 4, 2015

Gregory Spann, accused of murder, testifies on his own behalf

1:45 p.m. Gregory Spann denied cutting or stabbing anyone as he testified on his own behalf Thursday in the murder case filed against him.

Spann, 20, testified for nearly an hour before the jury broke for lunch Thursday at the Henry County Courthouse in Abbeville.

Cross examination from prosecutors began early Thursday afternoon.

Spann was one of three people charged by Henry County Sheriff's and Abbeville police in the stabbing death murder of 17-year-old Tyric Brown in April 2013.

Spann testified how he and two of the co-defendants, Marquise Barwick and Montrez Brown, rode together in a truck to a local Abbeville hangout spot called the Game Room.

"I knew there was a get together, but I didn't know there was going to be a party," Spann said as his attorney, Tom Brantley, questioned him about the block party on the night of the murder.

Spann also said he saw the victim, Tyric Brown, at the Game Room, who immediately made eye contact with him and "shot him the bird," or pointed his middle finger at him. He also saw Tyric Brown show him what he believed was a gang sign for 'West Side.'

"I was scared," Spann said, as he claimed no affiliation with a gang.

Spann said police questioned him about being a member of the Goon Squad gang. Spann said his only connection to anything Goon was that his dog was called Goon, which was why his license plate read Goon.

Spann recalled how Tyric Brown followed as he left the Game Room by himself. He said Brown threw a glass bottle at him, and cut him on the arm with a knife in the street. He remembered over 100 people gathered around them as he wrapped his shirt around the bleeding wound on his arm. An ambulance later took him to Flowers Hospital in Dothan where he had surgery to mend a damaged artery in his arm.

Spann admitted he regularly carried a pocket knife, but never took it out of his pocket on the night of the homicide.

"I was bleeding bad, and in pain," Spann recalled. "I was hurting."

9:45 a.m. -- The prosecution completed its evidence Thursday morning in the felony murder case filed against 20-year-old Gregory Spann.

Attorney Tom Brantley said the defense was expected to start putting on their witnesses during the week-long murder trial held in front of Circuit Court Judge Butch Binford at the Henry County Courthouse in Abbeville.

Lawyers were likely to make their closing arguments Thursday afternoon. Assistant Henry County District Attorney Sam Clenney has served as the lead prosecutor.

Spann, who was 17 at the time he was charged with murder, was one of three people charged by investigators with the Henry County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators also charged Marquise Barwick and Montrez Brown with murder in the stabbing death of 17-year-old Tyric Brown on April 13, 2013.

Montrez Brown, 20, of Abbeville, recently had his bail revoked after being arrested on two felony charges in Dothan while released on bail. Brown’s trial for his pending murder charge is scheduled for October.

The murder charge against 20-year-old Barwick remains pending and has been scheduled for trial in November. Barwick was 17 at the time he was charged with murder, and Montrez Brown was 18.

Henry County Sheriff William Maddox said the stabbing death came as a result of an altercation at a block party near the intersection of Crawford and Phillips streets. He said all four parties involved in the altercation are related to each other.

According to court records, authorities believe this is what happened:

A fight originally started at a building in the 200 block of Phillips Street between Tyric Brown and Spann. Brown then left that area and went to the area of the intersection of Crawford and Phillips streets to “calm down” and “get away from the situation.”

Spann, along with a large crowd, followed Brown to the intersection where he “reengaged” the altercation.

It was at this point where Montrez Brown and Barwick allegedly got involved in the fight. Records show Montrez Brown allegedly held Tyric Brown down and began hitting him with a belt, while both Barwick and Spann allegedly struck the victim with closed fists. Spann then pulled out a knife and, while Montrez Brown continued to allegedly hold down the victim, he began cutting and striking the victim with the knife. As Tyric Brown fell to the ground, the suspects, along with the large crowd gathered around the fight, ran from the area.

Henry County Coroner Derek Wright pronounced Tyric Brown dead at Southeast Alabama Medical Center. He suffered multiple cuts and stab wounds, mainly to his arms and torso area.

Maddox said the violence at the block party also resulted in three other people getting injured, one of whom he said included Spann. He said Spann underwent surgery to mend an arm injury while at Flowers Hospital.

Maddox also said two other people were stabbed during the altercation, including a 13-year-old girl and one of the other suspects.

Source: View DothanEagle.com Article

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WTVY.com
Ken Curtis - Oct. 6, 2016 at 7:40 PM CDT

Henry County man found not guilty of murder

A Henry County jury, after almost six hours of deliberations, found an Abbeville man not guilty Thursday of murder in the death of a teenager fatally stabbed in 2013.

Montrez Brown was one of three people arrested after Tyric Brown, 17, was killed during what investigators term an Abbeville block party with 200 or more people got out of control. Montrez Brown was 18 at the time.

Gregory Spann was convicted last year in Brown’s death and sentenced to 40 years in prison. Prosecutors say he is the man that committed the actual stabbing.

However, Assistant District Attorney Sam Clenney told jurors that Montrez Brown held a belt around Tyric Brown’s neck while Spann committed the crime.

Defense attorney Arthur Medley differed, telling the 12-member panel that, while DNA implicated Spann, it did not link his client to the crime.

“Gregory Spann is not the same person as Montrez Brown and we think the right thing (the acquittal) was done,” Medley said.

However, Tyric Brown’s mother disagrees. “You wait on the verdict and you wait on the justice system to do their job and it did not prevail,” Elaine Birkshire said.

Tyric Brown would have turned 21 years old Thursday. Blackshire said a celebration of her son’s life was planned for later in the day.

“We know it’s hard on all those involved and we send our deepest sympathy to Tyric’s family,” Medley said.

While it was earlier reported the Browns are cousins, Blackshire said there was no relation.

The third person arrested, Marquise Barwick, is scheduled for trial later this month

Source: View WTVY.com Article

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DothanEagle.com
Matt Elofson - Oct 20, 2015 Updated Feb 19, 2019

Abbeville homicide victim remembered at memorial service

A memorial service was recently held on the birthday of an Abbeville man who was stabbed to death during an altercation in an Abbeville street in April 2013.

Elaine Blackshire, the mother of Emmett Tyric Brown, said her son would’ve celebrated his 20th birthday on Tuesday Oct. 6. She said family and friends gathered on his birthday during a memorial birthday celebration held at the Abbeville Memorial Church of God gravesite. Friends and relatives held a balloon release and candle lighting ceremony.

Brown was born Oct. 6, 1995, and murdered on April 13, 2013.

Henry County Sheriff’s investigators arrested three people and charged them with murder in the Brown stabbing. Only one suspect, 20-year-old Gregory Spann, has been trial. Spann was convicted of felony murder and sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Similar felony murder charges remain pending against Marquise Barwick and Montrez Brown.

Source: View DothanEagle.com Article

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WTVY.com
Press Release: AL Attorney General Luther Strange

Court of Criminal Appeals upholds Henry County murder conviction

Attorney General Luther Strange announced that the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday upheld the murder conviction of Gregory Rayshon Spann. Spann, 20, of Abbeville, was convicted in August of 2015 for the murder of Tyric Brown.

Evidence was presented at trial that on the evening of April 13, 2013, a block party was held at a club called the "Game Room” in Abbeville. While standing outside the club, Spann and Brown got into an argument. After the men were separated, Brown walked in the opposite direction. Spann along with others, ran toward Brown and surrounded him. A physical altercation took place during which Spann stabbed Brown. An autopsy determined that Brown died as a result of having received multiple stab wounds.

The case was prosecuted at trial by Henry County District Attorney Doug Valeska's office. Spann was sentenced to 40 years’ imprisonment for his murder conviction. He subsequently sought to have his conviction reversed on appeal.

The Attorney General's Criminal Appeals Section handled the case during the appeals process, arguing for the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to affirm the conviction. The Court did so in a decision issued on Friday, October 21.

Attorney General Strange commended Assistant Attorney General Jean Webb of the Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Section for her successful work in this case.

Source: View WTVY.com Article

The Dothan Eagle
Matt Elofson - Feb 11, 2014
View on DothanEagle.com

The alleged killer of a former Dothan woman and her young son will be examined by a mental health expert after questions of his competency to stand trial were recently raised.

Huntsville Police charged 34-year-old Stephen Marc Stone on Feb. 25, 2013, in the deaths of his wife, 32-year-old Krista Kowalsky Stone, and 7-year-old son Zachary Landon Stone.

A Madison County grand jury returned a two-count felony capital murder indictment against Stone, charging him with the murder of two or more people and murder of a victim under the age of 14.

Court records show Madison County Circuit Court Judge Donna S. Pate ordered Stone to be evaluated by Dr. Doug McKeown, a certified forensic examiner who is also a Dothan psychologist. The judge ordered Stone to be evaluated through the regional outpatient program contracted with the state Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation.

The court made the order after finding reasonable grounds existed to question Stone’s competency to stand trial and mental state at the time of the offenses. The court ordered the Madison County Sheriff’s Office to make Stone available for the evaluation, including his transportation for the outpatient visit.

The judge also ordered the examiner to complete a report to include the defendant’s mental condition relating to his ability to understand the charges pending against him and whether he can assist his attorney in his defense.

The court also said the report should include the condition causing the incompetency if it exists, the most appropriate type and place of treatment and the likelihood of the defendant attaining competency under treatment.

As part of the order, all criminal proceedings are suspended against Stone until the court has received the report from the state Department of Mental Health.

Officers with the Huntsville Police Department found Krista Stone and her son Zachery Stone dead in their home on the morning of Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, after responding to the home for a welfare check.

The indictment against Stephen Stone charged him with choking his wife with his hands and killing his son in similar manner, with the additional allegation he also drowned his son.

The Dothan Eagle
Matt Elofson - Feb 11, 2014
View on DothanEagle.com

The alleged killer of a former Dothan woman and her young son will be examined by a mental health expert after questions of his competency to stand trial were recently raised.

Huntsville Police charged 34-year-old Stephen Marc Stone on Feb. 25, 2013, in the deaths of his wife, 32-year-old Krista Kowalsky Stone, and 7-year-old son Zachary Landon Stone.

A Madison County grand jury returned a two-count felony capital murder indictment against Stone, charging him with the murder of two or more people and murder of a victim under the age of 14.

Court records show Madison County Circuit Court Judge Donna S. Pate ordered Stone to be evaluated by Dr. Doug McKeown, a certified forensic examiner who is also a Dothan psychologist. The judge ordered Stone to be evaluated through the regional outpatient program contracted with the state Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation.

The court made the order after finding reasonable grounds existed to question Stone’s competency to stand trial and mental state at the time of the offenses. The court ordered the Madison County Sheriff’s Office to make Stone available for the evaluation, including his transportation for the outpatient visit.

The judge also ordered the examiner to complete a report to include the defendant’s mental condition relating to his ability to understand the charges pending against him and whether he can assist his attorney in his defense.

The court also said the report should include the condition causing the incompetency if it exists, the most appropriate type and place of treatment and the likelihood of the defendant attaining competency under treatment.

As part of the order, all criminal proceedings are suspended against Stone until the court has received the report from the state Department of Mental Health.

Officers with the Huntsville Police Department found Krista Stone and her son Zachery Stone dead in their home on the morning of Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, after responding to the home for a welfare check.

The indictment against Stephen Stone charged him with choking his wife with his hands and killing his son in similar manner, with the additional allegation he also drowned his son.

Criminal Details

DothanEagle.com
Lance Griffin - Jan 29, 2013

Bus driver shot, child taken hostage in Midland City

MIDLAND CITY— Law enforcement personnel continue to watch over the scene this morning near Destiny Church where Jimmy Lee Dykes continue to hold a young child hostage in a bunker at his home.

Law enforcement agencies from throughout the Wiregrass converged on a small dirt road here Tuesday after a gunman shot and killed school bus driver Charles Albert Poland Jr., 66, and abducted a young child.

Around 3:30 p.m., a man identified by neighbors as 67-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes allegedly boarded a Dale County school bus as it made a stop on Private Road 1539 in Midland City and shot Poland before leaving with a 5- or 6-year-old child.

Witnesses and neighbors said Dykes fled into a homemade bunker located on his property. It was not clarified whether Dykes had taken the child into the shelter with him.

Olson said the situation, which he wouldn’t confirm as a hostage situation, was ongoing late Tuesday night, adding that he believed the child was unharmed at the time but that the situation was unlikely to conclude quickly.

Michael Creel, Dykes’ neighbor on Private Road 1539, said he went outside after his sister heard gunshots.

“Me and her started running down the road,” Creel said. “That’s when I realized the bus had its siren going off. Kids were filing out, running down the hill toward the church.”

Creel said he attempted to chase the shooter down once someone told him the direction Dykes had headed.

“He’s 67 years old, so I figured I could catch him,” Creel said. “Apparently he didn’t go through the field like I thought. He’s got a four-foot-wide, about six-foot-long, eight-foot-deep homemade bomb shelter. It’s got about three to four feet of sand on top of it. If you didn’t know it was there, you wouldn’t (notice it).”

Carol Shepard said her daughter, who was on the bus at the time, identified the man as “Mr. Jimmy,” their next-door neighbor.

“All we know is he shot the bus driver and took a 6-year-old child,” Shepard said.

Neighbors said Creel didn’t appear to know the child he took from the bus and has no children of his own.

“I talked to a girl that was riding the bus, and she told me that he came on the bus and said, ‘I need two kids between the ages of 6 and 8,’” Creel said. “The driver told him, ‘I can’t do that.’ (The driver) tried to get away from the guy.”

Dykes was scheduled to be in court Wednesday for a bench trial on a menacing charge.

James Edward Davis Jr., who lives near Dykes on Private Road 1539, told the Dothan Eagle that Dykes pulled a gun on him and his daughter on Dec. 10 after Dykes believed Davis had driven in Dykes' yard. Davis said he reported Dykes to the Dale County Sheriff's Department. Dykes was arrested Dec. 22 and charged with menacing.

Davis said Dykes has lived at a residence on Private Road 1539 for about a year. He said Dykes constructed a "bunker" behind the residence with a PVC pipe leading to the back end of the residence.

"It's the craziest thing. He will be outside in his yard digging dirt at 2:30 in the morning," Davis Jr. told the Eagle .

Creel backed Davis Jr.’s description of Dykes.

“He’s the type that thinks the government’s out to get him,” said Creel, who also said Dykes is a Vietnam veteran. “He’s not right in the head.”

Dothan Police Sgt. Rachel David said authorities conducted evacuations of the nearby area soon after arriving.

Private Road 1539 is located near Destiny Church just off US 231.

After the shooting, emergency personnel gathered children at the church, which is located at the entrance of the dirt road.

Several crying children were escorted from the scene by parents.

Both sides of US 231 were shut down for much of the evening, but were reopened late Tuesday.

All Dale County and Ozark City Schools will be closed Wednesday.

Source: View DothanEagle.com Article

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HuffingtonPost.com
News Staff - Feb 6, 2013

Jimmy Lee Dykes Dead: 5-Year-Old Hostage Rescued In Alabama Standoff

The standoff between law enforcement and an Alabama man who held a boy in a bunker for seven days ended with the suspect dead and the 5-year-old safely rescued.

Reports of an explosion at Jimmy Lee Dykes‘ Midland City property came first on Monday afternoon, followed by media reports of the 65-year-old’s death.

At a hastily organized roadside press conference near the crime scene, FBI agent Steve Richardson said negotiations had deteriorated over the last 24 hours. He said they entered the bunker shortly after 3 p.m. fearing the child was “in imminent danger,” because they’d seen Dykes carrying a firearm.

The boy, identified only as Ethan, was transported to a hospital, state Rep. Steve Clouse told CNN. He appeared physically unharmed, according to reports.

Witnesses said they heard a boom and gunfire. Ambulances arrived soon afterward.

The crisis began Jan. 29 when authorities say Dykes boarded a school bus and demanded that he take two boys between six and eight years old. The bus driver — Charles Albert Poland, Jr. — is hailed as a hero for putting himself between Dykes and the children. His valor cost him his life, as Dykes allegedly shot Poland several times before taking the 5-year-old boy from the bus.

“You didn’t deserve to die but you died knowing you kept everyone safe,” said a letter from a student on Poland’s bus that was read aloud at the bus driver’s funeral.

The bunker in which Dykes holed up was four feet underground. He equipped it with electricity and was said to possibly have weeks of supplies stored. Negotiators communicated to him through a ventilation pipe. Because of the risk of tornadoes in this part of Alabama, bunkers are relatively common fixtures on the landscape.

Authorities sent Ethan’s prescription medicine as well as items the boy requested like Cheez-Its snacks and a red Hot Wheels toy car.

There was open communication with Dykes, according to authorities, but they said he’d made few demands, making it unclear what he hoped to accomplish.

Some neighbors believed Dykes timed the abduction to nearly coincide with a court appearance scheduled for the day after he shot Poland. In December, Dykes was arrested for allegedly shooting a gun to frighten a neighbor.

For that incident and others, people who lived near Dykes were leery of him long before he became a hostage-taker. They said that he once beat a dog to death with a lead pipe, that he warned children they’d be shot for crossing onto his land and that he guarded his property at night with a flashlight and gun.

He was a loner who allegedly lost contact with an adult daughter years ago, according to people who lived near him. The sounds of conservative talk radio filled his home and fed his anti-government attitudes, locals said.

Details about Dykes slowly emerged as negotiations failed to break the impasse. Dykes was a decorated Vietnam War veteran who’d served in the Navy. He’d grown up nearby, but later in life, he moved to Florida where he worked as a surveyor and truck driver. He returned to Alabama about two years ago, acquiring the rural property on a dirt road.

In 1995, he was arrested for improper exhibition of a weapon. That charge was dismissed. In 2000, he was booked on marijuana possession charges.

UPDATE: (10:36pm EST) Sheriff Wally Olson confirmed in a press conference held just after 10pm that Jimmy Lee Dykes was armed. Olson also said that communication with Dykes had “deteriorated” to the point that law enforcement officials felt that the hostage, Ethan, was in imminent danger and decided to move on the bunker. An explosion was heard just before FBI entered the bunker rescuing Ethan. The boy, just two days before his 6th birthday, was said to be in good spirits, “laughing and smiling.” Dykes was killed in the process, though it is still unclear how.

Source: View HuffingtonPost.com Article

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SchoolBusFleet.com
Thomas McMahon - Feb 7, 2013

Road by hostage site expected to be named for Charles Poland

DALE COUNTY, Ala. — A half-mile stretch of U.S. 231 here may soon bear the name of slain school bus driver Charles Poland. The roadway around the site of where Poland was fatally shot in the line of duty last week would be designated the "Charles 'Chuck' Albert Poland, Jr., Memorial Highway."

Poland was killed while protecting his passengers from an armed intruder, who then took a 5-year-old boy hostage for nearly a week.

The Alabama Legislature this week passed a resolution to name the highway stretch in honor of Poland.

"The Legislature wishes to honor the memory of the slain Dale County bus driver, Chuck Poland, for his heroic actions on January 29, 2013, during the Midland City hostage crisis," the resolution reads.

Signs or markers with the "Charles 'Chuck' Albert Poland, Jr., Memorial Highway" designation would be placed and maintained on the roadway.

The resolution has been sent to the governor for approval.

The Legislature also passed a resolution of condolence, mourning Poland's death and celebrating his life.

Meanwhile, the municipal court judge for Midland City wrote a letter to President Obama asking him to honor Poland with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

"I would humbly ask you, as the President of the United States, to bestow upon Mr. Poland's family, posthumously, the National Medal of Freedom," Judge William Matthews Jr. wrote. "Mr. Poland was only doing his job when he was gunned down on his bus. He was protecting the lives of the 21 children he helped escape through the back door/escape hatch when the intruder entered his bus."

Source: View SchoolBusFleet.com Article