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Due apparently to a lack of information sharing between Alabama and federal law enforcement authorities, hundreds if not thousands of people who are barred by law from buying hand guns, rifles and shotguns may have done so with scarcely a problem. According to a recent news report, Alabama failed to report thousands of individuals who are barred from firearms possession to the federal government. This situation could have allowed persons living in cities such as Montgomery, Tuscaloosa, Decatur and Prattville to buy firearms contrary to that allowed by law.

As a Birmingham criminal defense lawyer, I help many people across Alabama who have been accused of a crime. Not all of these individuals are guilty, and all are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. This latest news article points up the confusion that is sometimes caused by the lack of communication between state and federal agencies.

According to reports, Federal authorities and gun control advocates believe that literally  thousands of potentially unstable mental patients who have been released from state institutions now have easy access to guns because of Alabama's narrowly defined reporting law.

In one instance, a former West Point graduate who served 18 years in the U.S. Army walked into a local Bass Pro Shop and bought a shotgun, pistol and rifle. Police reports indicate that the instant background check run by store personnel in Spanish Fort failed to flag the customer as a person barred from buying a gun. The reason for this, say law enforcement authorities, is due to the fact that Alabama reports just a small fraction of mental health commitments to a national database.

The 42-year-old military veteran, David Otto Gluth, Jr., was previously treated for post-traumatic stress disorder at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Additionally, a psychiatrist who treated him at the AltaPointe Health System in Mobile, AL, stated that Gluth might also suffer from bipolar disorder with psychotic features and other problems. In 2008, he was reportedly involuntarily committed to Searcy Hospital in Mount Vernon, which made him ineligible under federal law to buy or own a gun.

Police were made aware of the potentially mentally unstable individual after he allegedly got into an argument with another customer in the store, talking about his needing a steady hand to shoot someone. A spokesman for the tore said he was confident that the company followed the law.

According to gun control advocates, if a store employee observes strange and threatening behavior from a customer it is a good indication that the gun should not be sold. This was apparently borne when Fairhope police responded to complaints of an armed man walking around the Rock Creek subdivision. They arrested Gluth and booked him on a disorderly conduct charge.

Gun loophole: Alabama fails to report thousands who are barred from firearms possession, AL.com, January 17, 2010

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As an Birmingham criminal defense attorney, I have the experience to aggressively defend individuals accused of various crimes ranging from petty theft to grand larceny and domestic violence to murder in the first degree. The innocence of defendants in a criminal trial is assumed until a conviction by a jury of their peers. No matter where you live -- Tuscaloosa, Decatur, Madison, Prattville or anywhere else in Alabama -- a jury may acquit a person arrested for a crime if the evidence gathered by the police is lacking, however in the case of some offenses the facts can be quite damning.

The trial of a man accused of fatally shooting a Huntsville police officer has seen some interesting defense tactics. According to recent news articles, Kenneth Shipp was arrested following the shooting death of Officer Eric Freeman in late 2007. The defendant’s criminal lawyer reminded jurors their job was determine whether or not Freeman's death was a result of Shipp’s intention to kill the officer, or simply a tragic result of the defendant’s reported drunkenness that evening.

According to court reports, Shipp was not only intoxicated that night, but was also under the influence of pharmaceutical drugs, which has apparently been established as fact in the case.

This is a serious situation for the defendant, who faces a capital murder charge for killing a police officer in the line of duty. In fact, the prosecution had at the time for the article stated that it would seek the death penalty if the 55-year-old man is convicted.

Based on reports, the shooting incident occurred on December 14, 2007, following what has been described as a simple investigation of a possible DUI traffic accident at Bailey Cove and Weatherly roads. However, that routine drunk driving traffic stop ended moments later when Shipp allegedly shot Officer Freeman at point-blank range with a small .22-caliber pistol.

Police reports show that Shipp shot Freeman as he and another officer, Kevin Lambert, were escorting Shipp to a patrol car to wait for a DUI investigator. When a third officer arrived, he found Lambert, Shipp and another man, a former police officer, wrestling on the ground and trying to get the gun away from Shipp.

Court records indicate that other officers arriving at the scene hear the defendant yelling that he had a bomb and demanding that they shoot and kill him. Based on news reports, Shipp’s defense team questioned whether the defendant’s behavior was consistent with intoxication. In Alabama intoxication is not a defense in and of itself. But it can sometimes be used as a defense if someone is so intoxicated that they suffer from mania and clearly don't know what they are doing.

Defense focus: Shipp intoxication, AL.com, February 02, 2010

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The economy has made things difficult for everyone. But one industry that tends to thrive in hard times is crime, either organized groups or individual criminals. Bank robbery, auto theft, white-collar crimes like embezzlement, and of course illicit drug manufacture and sales. In my years as an Alabama criminal defense lawyer, I have represented clients who have been accused of alleged drug possession, drug trafficking, manufacturing, illegal growing of marijuana, and meth lab operation, to name just a few.

Working in Birmingham, AL, I have also seen the growth of the meth industry as a way for some people to illegally make money in a down economy. Recent reports show that police have shut down two alleged meth labs in the West Alabama area.
 
According to police, raids in Hale and Pickens counties halted operation of what authorities sais were two separate methamphetamine labs. Four people were reportedly taken into custody, with police officials in both counties searching for additional suspects.

Pickens County Sheriff David Abston described one of the suspects, Christopher Wayne Kelly, 28, as a “serial burglar.” He is asking burglary victims in four West Alabama counties to report missing items. Kelly, a Tuscaloosa resident who had been staying at his grandfather’s camp house in Pickens County, was taken into custody on Sept. 1, according to the authorities.

The man was charged with third-degree burglary, second-degree theft, manufacturing a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, first-degree possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Kelly was placed in the Pickens County Jail on $541,500 bail.

According to reports, police searched Kelly’s residence and turned up a suspected methamphetamine lab, plus several items believed to have been stolen during a burglary in south Pickens County on August 31. Pickens County police believe that the suspect took similar items from hunting camps in Tuscaloosa, Greene, Sumter and Pickens counties.

Law enforcement officials are also looking for 33-year-old Christopher Scruggs, an associate of Kelly’s who has several warrants out for his arrest in Jefferson and Tuscaloosa counties.

In Hale County, officials charged three suspects with manufacturing methamphetamine. According to reports, Charles Tucker, 39, and his wife, Tina Tucker, 35, were taken into custody, along with 34-year-old Wade Johnson, at the Tucker’s Millwood Road residence in Greensboro. The bust was the result of an undercover investigation, which led authorities to the home where at least three suspected methamphetamine labs were in plain sight.

Police say that all three Hale County suspects face charges of trafficking methamphetamine, manufacturing methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine, and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

The undercover probe that identified the Tuckers as suspects also led to the identification of other suspects who sold drugs to agents of the 4th Judicial Drug and Violent Crime Task Force. Authorities said that warrants and indictments have been obtained for other suspects as well.

Alleged meth labs found in Hale, Pickens counties, TuscaloosaNews.com, September 10, 2009

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Reading a recent news report, I saw that The Shoals is way overrepresented when it comes to people on death row. Being convicted of murder is about as serious as it gets in the criminal arena, and death row is a place nobody wants to go. As an Alabama criminal defense attorney, I have represented many individuals accused of murder, homicide or manslaughter. Depending on the circumstances, some people in this situation simply do not deserve the death penalty.

At the time of the article, there were 203 inmates on death row in Alabama. Of those, 10 inmates had committed one or more homicides in Colbert, Franklin or Lauderdale counties. Five of those death row inmates from the Shoals and were there since March 2007. Many are waiting for a decision from the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals or Supreme Court.

Although more people have been sentenced to death in Colbert, Franklin and Lauderdale in the past 25 months than were sent to death row in the previous 25 years, local prosecutors are not worried the Shoals is becoming a hotbed for violent homicides.

"We're not any more violent than we have ever been," said Lauderdale County District Attorney Chris Connolly. "Every murder is violent. I just think juries are just fed up with crime and they are willing to recommend the death penalty where they feel it is warranted. There were capital murder cases here in the past where there was a conviction, but the jury recommended life without parole and the judge upheld the recommendation."

In Alabama, life without the possibility of parole and the death penalty are the only sentencing options for capital murder. Jurors recommend a punishment in capital cases, but the judge is not bound to follow the recommendation.

According to Alabama law, any time a homicide is committed for monetary gain; committed during another felony such as robbery; has more than one victim; the victim was a law enforcement officer; or the victim was younger than 14, it meets the criteria for capital murder in Alabama.

However, it does occur occasionally that when a homicide even meets the criteria for capital murder, the victim's family asks prosecutors to not pursue the death penalty. This can happen for a variety of reasons. Sometimes the victim’s family doesn't believe in the death penalty for moral or religious reasons, or they just don't want to have to spend 15 or 20 years or even more going to appeal hearings for the person convicted of killing a loved one.

Alabama death row has strong Shoals presence, TimesDaily.com, September 14, 2009

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As a Birmingham criminal defense lawyer, I find interesting the ingenuity of some people to invent new ways of doing things. From a criminal perspective, drug manufacturing is one of the more scientific pursuits. Not long ago, an Associated Press report disclosed that illegal drug manufacturers were using a new mix of ingredients to produce methamphetamine. But apparently this is nothing new to Alabama’s illicit drug industry.

While it may take a while for state and federal legislation to catch up with the new recipes that clandestine meth labs use to make their product, I’m certain that law enforcement agencies will still be arresting individuals for alleged drug manufacture and sale. The trouble for police and federal drug agents is the less conspicuous nature of this new approach.

According to news reports, most every meth lab in Alabama is using the new approach. “That’s all we’re seeing now as far as labs go,” said Albertville police Chief Benny Womack. “It’s much easier and quicker and doesn’t get as much attention. Somehow or another, these guys are better chemists than the ones who have degrees.”

Apparently, the new formula, or process, is called “shake and bake.” It uses a more simple recipe that requires just a two-liter soda bottle, cold pills and chemicals. The maker only has to mix the components by shaking the bottle. The resulting meth powder is reportedly highly addictive.

Reports for the AP reviewed lab seizures in 14 states, including Alabama, and found that the new method is spreading across the country and is contributing to a spike in the number of meth cases after years of declining arrests.

Because the volatile mixture requires fewer pills of common decongestants ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, it allows makers to skirt the law restricting over-the-counter sales of these medications. According to authorities, many meth users traveling from pharmacy to pharmacy, buying small quantities of pills to avoid attention.

The drug legislation and last year’s formation of the Safe Streets Task Force for Northeastern Alabama have combined to reduce the number of meth labs in the region, authorities said. The Birmingham Division of the FBI works directly with the Safe Streets Task Force, which includes 22 federal, state and local partners in Marshall, Etowah, DeKalb and St. Clair counties.

New meth formula avoids anti-drug laws, SandMountainReporter.com, September 8, 2009

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News reports out of Huntsville say six pounds of what drug dealers call “ice,” a crystallized form of meth, was seized in one of the largest drug busts in the history of North Alabama, according to police and drug enforcement officials. On September 3, officers from the Limestone County sheriff’s department arrested Bobby Ray Miller, a resident of Toney, Alabama, on criminal charges of drug trafficking and possession of drug paraphernalia. The 67-year-old was reportedly apprehended at his home on McKee Road along with six pounds of the illegal drug valued at nearly $200,000.

As a Birmingham criminal defense lawyer, I know that the drugs seized as part of this bust represent quite a sizeable piece of evidence, however, I also hold that every citizen is guaranteed under the Constitution to have his day in court. In our system of law, an individual is always considered innocent until proven guilty by a jury of his or her peers. My job as an Alabama criminal attorney is to provide an aggressive defense for those people accused of crimes by our justice system and to represent those clients well, both in the initial criminal case as well as any subsequent criminal appeals trials.

News reports of this incident stated that in addition to the large amount of crystal meth taken in the raid, deputies also seized $100,000 in cash, two Harley Davidson motorcycles, a semi-truck, two pick-up trucks, a Chrysler 300 sedan, and a trailer.

Law enforcement officials with the sheriff’s department say that this arrest for drug trafficking isn’t the first time that Miller has been charged with illegal activities in Alabama. Nearly 15 years ago, he was picked up on gambling charges. In 1995, police arrested the man and confiscated about $90,000 allegedly made off an illegal gambling operation.

6 lbs. of meth seized in Limestone County drug bust, WAFF.com, September 4, 2009

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