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 poor economy apparently hasn't increased the nation's crime rate, but Alabama's continues to rise. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), crime nationwide dropped last year, but not in Northern Alabama. Here in Birmingham, where I maintain my criminal defense practice, I find that a percentage of individuals accused of property and theft crimes do so because of money problems; some are falsely accused.Crime in Montgomery, Tuscaloosa, Mobile and elsewhere seems to have gotten worse. Burglary and motor vehicle thefts are property crimes.

A recent news article reported that law enforcement officials were not surprised about the latest statistics from the FBI. However, police aren’t particularly happy hearing that property crime in Northwest Alabama increased in 2008. Statistics from the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center's 2008 Crime in Alabama report indicate there were 181,434 property crimes in 2008, compared to 174,802 in 2007 and 164,810 in 2006.

By contrast, the FBI’s report shows that nationwide there were 9.7 million property crimes reported in 2008, about 0.8 percent lower than the 9.8 million reported in 2007.

Tuscumbia Police Chief Tony Logan said the economy has always dictated crime. "With unemployment the highest it's been in years, there are people who are stealing," Logan said. "And with an increasing drug problem and methamphetamine problem, there is more stealing to support that habit; we've all seen an increase in that."

Tuscumbia was the only city Northern Alabama’s five largest cities to see a decline in thefts. There were 161 thefts reported in 2008, compared to 191 in 2007. But Logan said he's worried that the impact of high unemployment will play a bigger role in thefts and burglaries in 2009 than in 2008.

With poor economy, law enforcement officials aren’t surprised, TimesDaily.con, September 27, 2009

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White collar crime in Alabama can range from petty theft to embezzlement to Internet fraud. Hard economic times can cause people to attempt crimes like these, or they can become embroiled in a difficult situation with seemingly no way out. As a Birmingham criminal defense lawyer, I know that many people accused of a particular crime feel they are not guilty. I also know that some people who may have committed a criminal act did so under heavy emotional or financial pressure.

While what happened may seem clear cut, there are usually extenuating circumstances that as defense attorneys we must explain to a jury so they can make an informed decision on the guilt or innocence of a defendant. A recent news article pointed out one kind of crime that may be more common than people imagine. A former SouthBank employee has reportedly been indicted for allegedly stealing more than a half-million dollars from that financial institution.

The defendant, a 48-year-old Huntsville woman, was recently indicted on charges she stole more than $500,000 over a five-year period while she was employed by SouthBank. Keleste Sherrill is a former assistant manager at the bank's Jefferson Street branch. She was charged with bank fraud after having allegedly stolen money from the bank's vault and ATM machines between January 2004 and August 2009. Bank management estimates the total amount at $533,000.

According to reports, SouthBank President Art Freeman said bank officials discovered an irregularity on a Friday afternoon last August. After completing an internal investigation the following Monday, bank officials confronted Sherrill as she arrived at work and described what they had found. Freeman said the woman was cooperative.

The Huntsville prosecutor’s office alleges that Sherrill used ATM ledgers and avoided bank cameras as a part of the scheme, according to the indictment. This initial indictment is just the first phase in the process of criminal prosecution. If convicted, the woman could be looking at up to 30 years in prison and may even have to pay $1 million in fines.

Former SouthBank employee indicted in $500K Huntsville bank theft, AL.com, September 30, 2009
 

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As an experienced Birmingham criminal defense lawyer, I have the skills to represent individuals charged with crimes ranging from petty theft to grand larceny, assault to murder. As an Alabama criminal attorney, I firmly believe that a person is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law -- it’s everyone’s constitutional right. I recently read a news account by the Press-Register detailing Mobile’s 10 most wanted suspects for various crimes.

According to that article, this list of fugitives includes individuals wanted in connection with murder, assault and robbery, among other offenses. One of the men on this list is a 17-year-old boy who has been charged with fatally shooting his cousin in a park in Theodore, AL. Another allegedly beat up a friend for keeping him from driving drunk.

In all cases, the city of Mobile considers these people fugitives from the law. According to the city’s chief of police, Phillip Garrett, they each have “committed serious felony crimes and owe a debt to society." Some of those individuals and their alleged crimes are included here:

• Lamont Jermaine Fagan, 28 -- charged with murder in connection with the early-morning August 13 shooting death of Rickey Deloach in the Josephine Allen public housing community. Two other men are reportedly already in jail regarding this crime.
• Markus Dewayne Lee, 17 -- accused of shooting his cousin, Blake Davis, at a park on Diamond Road in Theodore. The victim was reportedly trying to break up a fight when he was allegedly shot by Lee.
• LaDerrick Kevon Davis, 29 -- named in five counts of unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle, authorities say he has active warrants charging possession of burglar's tools and possession of a controlled substance. The five auto break-ins of which Davis is accused allegedly took place in recent months at Chantilly's nightclub on Airport Boulevard.
• Thomas Crooke, 23 -- charged with second-degree assault, accused of punching and kicking a friend who attempted to stop him from driving away from the Whiskey Night Club because he was drunk. The friend suffered a broken shoulder and nose, according to the warrant.
• Willie Lionel Williams, 23, -- accused of first-degree robbery and second-degree assault after an individual was robbed and shot in the leg at the VIP Barber Shop on St. Stephens Road in June. Warrants also are on file against Williams for second-degree assault, first-degree burglary and first-degree possession of marijuana.

Mobile's 10 Most Wanted includes 2 murderers, 4 robbers and man who beat up, AL.com, September 10, 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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A "rip and run" crime wave is targeting Birmingham, Hoover, Irondale, Moody, Leeds, Vestavia, Pelham, Trussville, Mongomery, Cullman, and the rest of Alabama.  Thieves are targeting expensive mechanical pieces found on cars and trucks.  Catalytic converters are a favorite target for this kind of theft.  The thieves take the metal to scrap yards for quick sale.  The converters are worth about $30 to $50 at scrap yards.  Police say the crime takes less than ten minutes to perpetrate and thieves pose as car owners working on their own cars.  In Hoover, Alabama a major criminal case began when thieves stole catalytic converters from multiple cars on a closed car lot.  Repairs often cost the car owner approximately $1300.  Trucks and SUVs seem to be the most targeted vehicles in Alabama because they sit high off the ground allowing for easy access, but any car is susceptible to the theft. 

Many believe the best solution to stopping this kind of crime is to crack down of scrap yards who pay money for scrap metal.  This is an overreaching approach that does nothing but hurt honest business.  It is similar to blaming guns for crime.  As a criminal defense attorney and lawyer I believe that individual rights are the most precious commodity we have in this country.  When we give up those rights to combat minor inconveniences, such as cooper or metal theft, or even when we give up those rights to combat major areas of concern such as inner city violence, and we ban handgun ownership like the District of Columbia, then you are giving up rights the founders of this country fought and died to obtain, and are disgracing the memory of those who have fought and died since to protect those hard won freedoms. 

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