Decatur Inmates Caught, 5 Have Escaped in Last 9 Weeks
Decatur, AL - Three work release inmates who escaped from custody over the past week have been captured.
According to state prison officials, United States Marshals Service found Charles Young at the Night's Inn in Huntsville on Wednesday at about 12:15 p.m. Young was the man who police say escaped from Huntsville Hospital's Emergency Room on Monday night after suffering an injury at his work release job. He had been serving a prison sentence on a credit card theft charge. He's now being held in the Limestone County Jail.
On Wednesday, two other men got loose from the work release program. Robert Alex Michael and Steven Donald Jones were captured Thursday in Trinity. Jones was serving time on a burglary charge, while Michael was there for breaking into a vehicle.
This week's escapes are just the latest in a series of problems for the Decatur Work Release program. In August, 41 year old Danny Moore and 27 year old Brent Smith escaped the facility, and allegedly carjacked a man, forcing him to drive to the Shoals are before he got away. Moore and Smith were also caught a couple of days after their escape.
Web Producer : Mike Brown, brown@waaytv.com
Space Shuttle Discovery Leaking Fuel
Cape Canaveral, Fla. - Space shuttle Discovery is leaking on the launch pad.
If it isn't fixed soon, the small fuel leak could delay Discovery's planned launch on Nov. 1.
The flight to the International Space Station will be Discovery's last.
Shuttle engineers met Monday afternoon to put together a repair plan. Later this week, technicians will tighten the bolts on the leaking fuel line. If that doesn't help, they may have to replace four seals or even part of the line.
Last week, NASA replaced a cap in the system, but it did not stop the leak.
The rocket fuel is used to maneuver the shuttle while it's in orbit.
Producer: Chad Rose chad@waaytv.com
Arrest in Hartselle Arson
Hartselle, AL - Ten months after an fire completely destroyed a Morgan County lumber business, police have arrested and charged a suspect.
39 year old David Groover was taken in to custody Friday. Police declined to release many details about his arrest, but say that federal and state officials helped in the investigation. So far, he's only charged with one count of arson, but additional charges are expected.
The January 16th fire at Hartselle Plywood and Lumber broke out just before 1:00 a.m.. According to Hartselle Police Chief Ron Puckett, no one was inside the building at the time. It took firefighters eight hours to bring the flames under control.
Web Producer : Mike Brown, brown@waaytv.com
Donated Replacement For Stolen Wheelchair
Huntsville, AL - We have an update to a story we brought you two weeks ago.
Emotions Run High As Officer Involved Car Wrecks Spike
Huntsville, AL - Over the past few weeks, we've seen several wrecks involving Huntsville Police Officers. Three of them have been serious, and the most recent killed a mother of three, who was expecting her fourth child.
While no one questions that police officers risk their lives to keep us safe, many in the community are now wondering why they are involved in so many auto accidents.
"(In) the last two months, we've had 25 accidents" admits Huntsville Police spokesman Harry Hobbs. "But 14 of those accidents were just little fender benders, and out of those 25 only 11 were at fault to the police officer that maybe could have been avoided."
For many people, those 11 where and officer was at fault is 11 too many. But Hobbs insists when you factor in the fact that many patrol officers are in their cars for hours at a time without a wreck, the numbers aren't as bad as they seem.
Unfortunately, accidents do happen. One such accident that happened Friday night proved deadly.
Whitesburg Drive Closed, Governors Drive Down One Lane From Gas Leak
Huntsville, AL - Traffic troubles for Wednesday morning after
Huntsville, Madison Texting Bans Go Into Effect
Drivers be warned. On Monday, police in Huntsville and Madison will begin enforcing bans on texting while driving. Huntsville was the first to pass the ordinance. Madison quickly followed.
Both bans include much more than texting, though. It is also illegal to check e-mail, program a satellite navigation device or scroll through a music player. Basically anything that involves sending or receiving information with a wireless device is prohibited.
However, in both cities, these are secondary offenses, which means an officer must spot the driver committing another traffic violation before he or she can be pulled over and ticketed.
WAAY-TV Teaming Up With WZDX-TV To Present Local News on Fox 54
Victim Shot After Discovering Friends All Tied Up
Huntsville, AL At approximately, 4:40 Saturday afternoon, A man was shot twice after walking in on a robbery at the Landing Apartments, 150 Spinnaker Ridge Drive. The victim, Charles Hosea, was shot in the stomach and leg and his injuries were not life threatening.
According to Huntsville Police, Hosea entered a friend's apartment and discovered the residents, a male and female couple, tied up and being held at gun point by two armed robbers. Hosea began to scuffle with the assailants and was shot.
Police are continuing to search for the suspects. The men ran out of the apartment and departed in a white Jeep Cherokee with the Alabama Tag "SHUN-DAD". The Jeep also had a sticker on the back, "I'M DOING ME".
If you have any information contact Huntsville Police.
Dale Bader / WAAY 31 News
Police Bust Cross Dressing Thieves at Boaz Wal Mart
Some very odd suspects went through the Boaz City Police Department earlier this week.
Investigators received a call on Sunday afternoon from Wal-Mart security guards that they'd spotted some unusual people stealing cell phones from the store. What was so unusual? According to Boaz Police spokesman Terry Davis - "There was a black female, two black males dressed as females, and two black males shoplifting merchandise".
When police got there, they say they found 19 cell phones, still in the packaging on the cross dressing crooks and their alleged accomplices.
As detectives did further investigation into the case, they came to believe that the group had been pulling similar heists around the south. Davis says the suspects are now linked to cell phone thefts in Guntersville and Snellville, Georgia as well. Investigators are working with Wal-Mart and local police departments in several other cities to see if the group could be responsible for other crimes as well.
The suspects have been identified as :
18 year old Trevor Baker of Huntsville
21 year old Terrell Jolly of Huntsville, one of the cross dressing males.
23 year old Jarquez Dancy of Huntsville, one of the cross dressing males.
19 year old Precious Humphrey of Huntsville, the lone female.
The 5th suspect is an unidentified juvenile.
Thousands Of Dollars Worth Of Drugs Off The Street, Huntsville Club Closes
Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of drugs are off the street and one Huntsville club has been shut down.
Arrest Made in Marshall Co. Murder
Marshall County investigators have arrested 57 year old Sherwin Wigley and charged him with murder.
The arrest follows a June 29th incident at Wigley's home in the Douglas community. His wife, Lori, was shot and killed. Police believe Sherwin then turned the gun on himself in an unsuccessful suicide attempt. He was flown to Huntsville Hospital, where he was kept in intensive care for several weeks.
According to an attorney for the family, there was no history of domestic violence calls to the Wigley home. The attorney told the Sand Mountain Reporter, there was a history of mental problems that forced Sherwin to retire early from the Postal Service.
Sherwin Wigley is being held in the Marshall County Jail on $100,000 bond.
Russellville Man Arrested on Murder Charges
A man from Russellville is charged with murder following a violent attack Thursday night.
26 year old Andres Francisco was arrested just before 11:00 a.m. today in Decatur. Investigators say he stabbed another man nine times and cut his throat during an altercation in a car on South Carroll Street Thursday night. The victim was able to get out of the car and go to a family member's house for help. He was rushed to Russellville Hospital, then flown to Huntsville Hospital where he died Friday afternoon. The victim has only been identified as a 20 year old man.
Francisco is being held on capital murder charges in the Russellville City Jail.
Local Business Owner Dead, Investigation Underway
A business owner from Harvest is dead, and Madison County Sheriff's Deputies say they're looking very closely at the scene.
46 year old Marc Wenger was found dead in his home on Lariat Drive just before noon on Monday. Police aren't saying how he died, but say it was "not natural causes".
Investigators went to the home after Wenger's employees were concerned they hadn't seen him or heard from him since last week.
Wenger may be a familiar face to some WAAY-TV viewers. In January, the colorful owner of Wenger Tree Service spoke with WAAY 31's Ross Sather about his job. The story aired as Wenger helped clean up the storm damage in downtown Huntsville following a tornado.
Constellation Cuts Hit Home
It's been a tough couple of weeks for hundreds of Valley workers, with companies handing out pink slips almost daily.
New Trial Ordered For Convicted Former Huntsville Cop
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals has ordered a new trial for a former Huntsville police officer who was convicted of possession of a firearm that had been altered to remove the serial number.
The appeals court ruled 5-0 that the judge at the trial of Wesley Little incorrectly instructed jurors before they began deliberations.
Little was working for the Huntsville Police Department when a search of his car turned up the loaded pistol in the trunk. Little first said the pistol had belonged to his grandfather. Then he said he seized it from a home in December 2007 and forgot to turn it in. He was convicted last year and sentenced to seven years in prison.