Birmingham Criminal Defense Blog : Birmingham DUI & Criminal Defense Lawyer & Attorney : Eversole Law Firm : Criminal and DUI Defense : Serving Birmingham, Montgomery, Alabama

Being an experienced Birmingham criminal defense attorney, I have the knowledge and skills to represent Alabama residents and other persons accused of committing crimes by the law enforcement agencies of this state. These criminal acts can include theft, larceny, assault, drug possession, criminal sexual behavior, murder and other crimes. As an Alabama criminal lawyer, I do believe that an individual is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. That’s something nobody can take away because it’s a Constitutional protection granted to everyone in the United States.

Recently, a Franklin County grand jury handed down a number of indictments for a variety of crimes. Many of these individuals will claim that they were unjustly accused. A trial will be held to determine the guilt or innocence of each person. Here is a selection of those indictments:

• Aaron Andrew Adams, 22, Vina -- third-degree robbery
• Sarah Marie Beasley, 25, Haleyville -- possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia
• Andrew Eric Bryant, 19, Haleyville -- seven counts of fraudulent use of a credit card
• Harold Clayton Bryant, 44, Russellville -- possession of drug paraphernalia and attempting to manufacture a controlled substance
• Richard Henry Fisher, 25, Red Bay -- second-degree attempting to manufacture a controlled substance, contributing to truancy and third-degree theft of property
• Tyler Blake Garrison, 18, Russellville -- four counts of third-degree burglary, three counts of second-degree theft of property and one count of attempted theft of property
• Guillermo Castro Gutierrez, 19, Russellville -- second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, first-degree identity theft and second-degree forgery
• Jason Anthony Hacker, 25, Vina -- third-degree burglary, third-degree criminal mischief, unlawful breaking and entering a motor vehicle and five counts of third-degree theft of property
• Donnell Lee Harris, 44, Sheffield -- third-degree burglary and second-degree theft of property
• Ryan Bonds Hester, 29, Phil Campbell -- possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and two counts of domestic violence third-degree assault
• Rafe Hollander, 23, Russellville -- violation of the community notification act as a sex offender
• Dana L. Johnson, 35, Haleyville -- possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia
• Anthony Wayne Lane, 28, Russellville -- second-degree receiving stolen property, third-degree assault, third-degree burglary and third-degree theft of property
• Hector Ortiz, 25, Fayette -- second-degree forgery, leaving the scene of an accident, public intoxication, resisting arrest and obstructing justice by giving false identification
• Carey Renea Peters, 32, Vina -- second-degree theft of property, violation of protective services, attempting to possess a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia
• Joseph Thomas Postell, 20, Harvest -- second-degree escape
• Cody James Simpson, 20, Florence -- first-degree theft of property and third-degree burglary
• Erskin L. Spearman, 33, Jasper -- public intoxication, second-degree possession of marijuana, carrying a pistol without a permit and certain persons prohibited from carrying a firearm
• Robert Duncan Strickland, 19, Red Bay -- possession of drug paraphernalia and contributing to truancy
• Tilena Ann Watson, 36, Red Bay -- second-degree manufacturing of a controlled substance
• Roger Lee West, 28, Mount Hope -- second-degree forgery
• David Leeander Whitman, 30, Phil Campbell -- first-degree theft of property

Franklin County grand jury, TimesDaily.com, November 26, 2009

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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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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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If crime wasn’t on the rise lately we probably wouldn’t be seeing such a flurry of local criminal indictments across Alabama. Recently a grand jury in Coffee County handed down more than two dozen indictments for a variety of alleged crimes in the area. As a Birmingham criminal defense lawyer, I represent many different clients, many of whom believe they do not deserve the charges for which they have been arrested. Drug possession and trafficking, Internet crime, criminal sexual behavior, larceny, burglary and all manner of felonies, I always provide a strong and aggressive defense for my clients.

These are a few of the latest charges and accusations by state and local authorities leveled against various individuals throughout our area. The Coffee County Sheriff’s Department served 25-plus grand jury indictments early in September. More will undoubtedly follow.

News reports state that warrants served on the indictments included Christopher D. McCray, 20, of County Road 723, Chancellor, who was arrested on New Year’s Day on charges of murder and attempted murder at the Castle Ridge Apartment complex in Enterprise. According to Enterprise Police Capt. Mike Lolley, police found Tori Maurice Jones, 30, of Hull Street, dead inside an apartment, shortly after midnight. Jones had been shot once in the face and once in the chest. Injured at the scene was George Presley, 26, who walked into Medical Center Enterprise with a gunshot wound in the forehead.

Others included:

• Jeffrey Todd Ivie, 35, of New Brockton, on charges of trafficking and manufacturing of illegal substances, possession of marijuana, first degree and use and possession of drug paraphernalia
• Michael Brett McClain, 19, of Enterprise on charges of first-degree robbery
• Gregory Michael Thames, 37, of Bonifay, Fla., on manufacturing a controlled substance
• Jeffrey Fluellen, 30, of Enterprise, on possession of cocaine and first-degree marijuana charges
• Wilfred H. Wittekind, 75, of Oakwood Dr., Enterprise, on a first-degree sodomy charge
• Robert Wayne Strickland, 45, of Chancellor, on a charge of second-degree assault
• Sarah Smith Rodgers, 27, of Geneva, on distribution of a controlled substance, second-degree possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia
• Thomas E. McCaw, 25, of Daleville, on charges of second-degree assault, tampering with physical evidence, manufacturing and attempting to elude police
• Nelson Roldansolano, 27, of Melbourne St., Enterprise, on a charge of second-degree felony rape
• Philip Lamar Nolin, 44, of New Brockton, on nine counts of possession of a forged instrument
• Drake Robert Stinson, 20, of Elba, possession and receiving a controlled substance and use and possession of drug paraphernalia

Coffee County Grand Jury hands down indictments, EpriseNow.com, September 15, 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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