2A
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LOCAL & STATE
THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2016
DOTHAN EAGLE
Montgomery
Volume 109, Issue 70
2 Sections, 24 Pages
dothaneagle.com City leaders start separate
Inside probe into police shooting
Section A
Opinion.............................. 4A
Obituaries ..........................5A
Nation & World.................. 8A
Stocks ............................... 9A
Section B
Sports ................................1B
Scores ............................... 2B
Coffee Break ..................... 4B
Comics .............................. 5B
Classifieds......................... 8B
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MONTGOMERY — Montgomery Mayor
Todd Strange said Wednesday that a city
probe into a fatal officer-involved shooting is standard operating procedure and
will not interfere with a state investigation.
Officer Aaron Smith, who is white, shot
Gregory Gunn, who is black, in the early
hours of Feb. 25, steps from the man’s
home, according to police. The death
roiled the community, which has a history
of police violence dating back decades.
Smith was arrested and charged with
murder last Wednesday after the State
Bureau of Investigation found probable
cause.
The SBI, not the city, is responsible for
the case’s criminal investigation. City investigators don’t have access to most of
the case’s evidence, as officials said all
evidence was turned over to SBI immediately on the scene. Strange said the probe
will evaluate city procedures.
The Gunn family saidWednesday the investigation looks like an attempt to “pander” to the law enforcement community,
some of whom believe the district attorney acted too quickly in charging Smith
before a grand jury reviewed the case.
Strange said the investigation is not out
of the ordinary after fatal shootings. He
hopes it will provide answers for Montgomery police officers who have rallied
around Smith, a 23-year-old officer who
joined the force in 2012. District Attorney Daryl Bailey and SBI have remained
tight-lipped about what evidence led to
the murder charge.
“He’s presumed innocent until proven
guilty,” Strange said. “We want to do everything we can to support him, and we
want to support the Gunn family.”
“Hopefully people will understand that
it’s not mutually exclusive,” Strange said.
Strange met with police groups Mon-
Local Briefs
Glasstream announces launch
of new coastal interceptor vessel
(ISSN 0745-055X) Dothan Eagle is
published daily at 227 N. Oates St., Dothan,
AL36303. Periodicals postage paid at
Dothan,Ala.
POSTMASTER: Send address
corrections to Dothan Eagle, 227 N.
Oates St., Dothan, AL 36303. Dothan
Eagle is a member of The Associated
Press and the Alabama Press
Association.
Steve Smith
Regional Publisher
Alabama Group
Marshall R. Andrews
Regional Director of Audience
Growth and Distribution
Community Newspapers of Alabama
Bobby Jesswein
Regional Controller
Community Newspapers of Alabama
Charlie Gibson
Vice President Production
and Facilities
Community Newspapers of Alabama
efficiency, and provides a stable and
balanced ride under all conditions.
According to Kirkland, the largest
cost of ownership over the life cycle of
a coastal interceptor is fuel for daily
operations and maintenance-related
expenses for marine propulsion systems.
Glasstream Powerboats announced
Wednesday the launch of a new Coastal
Interceptor Vessel called The Relentless.
A news release said the vessel
redefines the Coastal Interceptor
category.
The Relentless is expected to be
unveiled at a press conference at
Glasstream in Dothan on March 15.
“Designed to operate in rough water,
this revolutionary product is a game
changer. It goes up to twice as far on a
gallon of fuel, performs better with less
power, and brings down the costs of
ownership and operation,” Glasstream
Chief of Operations A.L. Kirkland stated.
“Additionally, the super strong hull
adds years of service life to these units.”
Kirkland stated the hull design of
the GS360 R-Interceptor improves
operational capability in a light chop to
heavy seas.
Designed to be very low drag, the dual
inverted stepped hull increases fuel
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day to hear their concerns and said many
want the district attorney to answer their
questions.
Smith’s supporters believe his arrest before a possible grand jury indictment is
out of the ordinary. Police officers pooled
funds to post Smith’s bail last week.
“Things have been done differently
than in typical officer-involved shootings,
based on my experience,” said Everette
Johnson, 2nd vice president at the Fraternal Order of Police’s Capitol City Lodge.
The Gunn family said last week Smith’s
arrest was “progress.” But the city’s investigation, in addition to a public display of
support for Smith on the police department’s Facebook page, angered the family.
A photo taken Friday of Smith and Police Chief Ernest Finley smiling was posted on the social media site, along with a
caption reading, “MPD supports their
men and women in blue.”
Gunn family attorney Tyrone Means
said Wednesday their trust in the city and
police department “began to wane” when
they saw the photograph. Means said the
district attorney would not have charged
Smith without true evidence of probable
cause.
“Just as the family and the community
have been admonished to trust the process, should we also expect law enforcement to trust the process as well?” Means
said.
Smith’s attorney Mickey McDermott
said he welcomes the city’s investigation.
He has previously called the arrest a “political witch hunt.”
Smith wants certain procedures within
the department changed to prevent similar situations in the future, McDermott
said.
McDermott has asked the police department to review their patrol policy, which
he said required two-man patrols in certain areas up until a few months ago.
The Associated Press
Dothan to host plumbing code
seminar
The Building Inspections Division
of the Department of Planning and
Development will sponsor a seminar to
review the 2009 International Plumbing
Code. The seminar will be held in Room
C on the first floor of the Dothan Civic
Center on March 14 from 6-8 p.m.
The seminar will give participants
the knowledge to locate information
and identify requirements from the
2009 International Plumbing Code in
preparation for the certification exam.
There is no cost to participants and no
need to register.
For more information, call Dothan
Permitting and Inspections at 615-4450.
FORECAST FOR THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2016
TODAY
FRIDAY
Mostly sunny, with
a high near 80.
South wind 10 to 15
mph.
82° 60°
Montgomery
80/63
80°
TONIGHT
60
UV INDEX
Troy
Mostly cloudy, with
a low around 60.
South southeast
wind 5 to 10 mph.
2
LOW
Partly sunny. Chance of
rain 40%.
SUNDAY
MONDAY
78° 58°
Chance of a.m.showers,
t’storms 30%.
81° 58°
Sunny. Mostly clear at
night.
MOON PHASES
°
Dothan
80/60
LAST TUESDAY
LOW: 49°
Marianna
Pensacola
71/64
Destin
Partly sunny. Breezy, with a
southeast wind 15 to 20 mph,
with gusts as high as 25 mph.
At night, a 20 percent chance
of showers and t’storms. Mostly
cloudy. Southeast wind 10 to 15
mph.
High: 9:48p
Southeast winds 15 to 20 knots
increasing to 18 to 23 knots.
Seas 4 to 7 feet.
69/60
Panama City Beach
Destin/Fort Walton
Seas
79° 62°
Partly sunny, SSE wind
5-10 mph.
0-14
scale
HIGH: 78°
Tides
Low: 6:33a
SATURDAY
Auburn
Panama City Beach/
Port St. Joe
Mostly sunny. Southeast wind around 15 mph,
with gusts as high as 25 mph.At night, partly
cloudy. East southeast wind 10 to 15 mph,
with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Port St. Joe
Tides
Low: 4:23a
High: 8:04p
Seas
Southeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 5 to 7 feet
with occasional seas up to 9 feet. Dominant
period 7 seconds. Protected waters choppy.
VISIT WWW.DOTHANEAGLE.COM FOR MORE WEATHER
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, www.noaa.gov
NEW
FULL
FIRST
LAST
March 15 March 23 March 31 April 7
ALMANAC
LAKE LEVELS
RAINFALL
Jordan
Sunrise
Sunset
Moonrise
5:57a Eufaula
5:47p
7:04a Harding
24hrs
Month
YTD
Mon last year
0.00” Martin
1.39”
11.94” Seminole
4.31” West Point
189.08
520.28
251.69
485.34
76.83
632.10
AROUND THE NATION
City
Atlanta
Birmingham
Boston
Chicago
Denver
Detroit
Honolulu
Kansas City
Knoxville
Las Vegas
Miami
Minneapolis
Nashville
New Orleans
New York
Orlando
St. Louis
Savannah
Seattle
Washington, D.C.
Hi
77
77
64
64
52
66
79
72
65
61
78
62
70
77
55
78
74
71
52
62
Lo
W
60 fg/ps
63 mc/t
46
r
57
sh
32
ps
52
mc
69
sh
56
t
46
ps
46
sh
65
ms
54
sh
52
mc
63
c
48
ms
57
ms
57
t
51
s
41
sh
44
ms
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www.dothaneagle.com
Local Briefs
The following people have been arrested by the Dothan
Police Department and are charged with a felony. None has
been convicted. Information provided by the Dothan Police
Department.
March 8
» Robert Christopher Gaskins, 43, of Batavia,
Ohio, third-degree theft of property.
» Teria Shankel Kincey, 33, of Dothan, synthetic
narcotic possession.
» Nicholas Matthew Nitkowski, 50, of Dothan,
first-degree theft of property and third-degree
receiving stolen property.
» Wiley C. Morse Jr., 58, of Dothan, first-degree
theft of property.
» Joshua Tyler Phillips, 30, of Dothan, meth possession.
March 9
» Shakirah Dechele Hudspeth, 29, of Dothan,
three counts of drug distribution.
Houston County corrections officer
resigns after prostitution arrest
A Pinckard man has resigned from his job as a
corrections officer at the Houston County Jail after
a recent arrest in a Dothan police prostitution
sting.
Houston County Sheriff Donald Valenza said Steven Lorenzo Hooks, 53, of Pinckard,
has resigned in the wake of his recent
arrest for misdemeanor third-degree
promoting prostitution.
Valenza initially suspended Hooks
and placed him on administrative
leave until further review. But Valenza said Hooks later resigned.
Hooks
According to a post on the Dothan
Police Department’s Facebook page, Hooks was
one of seven men arrested on the misdemeanor
prostitution charges as part of an undercover operation conducted late last week.
Man charged with theft of 23 TVs
from local hotel
Dothan police arrested a former employee of a
local hotel and charged him with stealing 23 televisions from the business.
Dothan Police Lt. Will Glover confirmed police investigators arrested
Wiley C. Morse Jr., 58, of Dothan, and
charged him with felony first-degree
theft of property.
Glover confirmed police charged
Morse with stealing 23 televisions
Morse
worth a total $10,350 from the Quality Inn between June 2013 and March of this year.
Morse was taken to the Houston County Jail and
held on $15,000 bail.
Woman charged with $13K theft
from Eufaula business
Eufaula police recently arrested a second woman
on charges that she stole over $13,000 from Southern Plastics business in Barbour County.
Court records show Eufaula police investigators
arrested Tornika Ivory, 33, of Eufaula, on Tuesday
and charged her with felony first-degree theft of
property and felony second-degree possession of a
forged instrument.
Records show police charged Ivory with stealing
$14,193.12 between Jan. 4 and Nov. 16, 2015. Records show police also charged Ivory with the possession of 18 forged checks from Southern Plastics
totaling the same amount of $14,193.12.
A second Eufaula woman, 32-year-old Kimberly
Adams, has a similar felony first-degree theft
charge pending.
Police arrested Adams in November and charged
her with allegedly stealing $13,625 from Southern
Plastics between Jan. 4 and Nov. 16.
Records show the charge alleged Adams went to
Ameris Bank on multiple occasions and cashed
business checks she fraudulently obtained by pretending to be a former employee.
Adams also has a pending felony identity theft
charge against her. Adams has already been indicted on her charges, and has a plea hearing date
set for Monday in front of Circuit Court Judge Burt
Smithart.
TUESDAY’S NUMBERS
FLORIDA:
Cash 3 Evening: 0-3-3
Cash 3 Midday: 4-7-5
Fantasy 5: 2-8-19-21-31
Lucky Money:
24-29-36-37,
Lucky Ball: 9
Play 4 Evening: 7-7-0-5
Play 4 Midday: 8-3-2-9
Florida Lotto:
flalottery.com
Georgia Lotto:
900-25-LUCKY,
800-GA-LUCKY
galottery.com
GEORGIA:
Cash 3 Evening: 5-2-8
Cash 3 Midday: 4-1-0
Cash 4 Evening: 0-3-6-5
Cash 4 Midday: 5-7-9-6
Fantasy 5: 4-5-6-27-36
Georgia FIVE Evening:
2-3-3-8-8
Georgia FIVE Midday:
5-0-7-7-8
Mega Millions: 27-37-54-66-69,
Mega Ball: 5, Megaplier: 5
THE DOTHAN EAGLE WILLNOT GIVE
LOTTO NUMBERS OVER THE PHONE