Judge approves juror questionnaire for Alabama sheriff
A judge will allow lawyers for a longtime Alabama sheriff indicted on theft and ethics charges to distribute a questionnaire to potential jurors. The Athens News Courier reports that Judge Pride Tompkins approved the request in the case against Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely. Prosecutors didn’t oppose the motion for a juror questionnaire. Aside from questions about employment history and military service, it would also include questions about political affiliations and experience with law enforcement. Blakely has pleaded not guilty, and his trial is set to begin March 9. Blakely has been sheriff of the north Alabama county for 36 years. He was arrested in August on charges that include accusations of taking thousands of dollars from campaign and law enforcement accounts. Blakely is free on bond and remains in office. Republished with the Permission of the Associated Press.
Sheriff John Williams remembered as dedicated peace officer
A slain Alabama sheriff was remembered Monday as a dedicated peace officer who loved serving the people of his county. More than 2,000 mourners filled an auditorium for funeral services for Lowndes County Sheriff John Williams. Williams was shot and killed Nov. 23 at a gas station in the county where he served as sheriff. William Chase Johnson, 18, is charged with murder in the sheriff’s death. Sometimes known as “Big John” for his towering frame, the 62-year-old sheriff was remembered as a selfless law enforcement officer who showed respect to everyone. “He didn’t care if you were rich or poor. He didn’t care if you were black, white, green, purple…. John was going to treat you like family. John was going to do everything in his power to help you,” said Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor, who serves as head of the state sheriffs association. Taylor said Williams was example to follow, both as a man and a law enforcement officer. “When this call for assistance came in, he didn’t pass it to a deputy… he took it himself, just like he had done thousands of times,” Taylor said. Speakers at the services described Williams’ big laugh and bigger heart. They remembered him as a man who freely gave out his cellphone number to folks in his county so they could reach him if they needed, doted on his grandchild and patrolled his county in his truck with a distinctive air raid siren-sounding horn that always let people know he was coming. Williams was elected as sheriff in 2010 after decades working in law enforcement in his home county. Williams’ flag-draped coffin sat at the front of the coliseum that was selected for the funeral because of the expected large crowd. A black wreath was placed on the hood of a sheriff’s truck at the back of the coliseum. Montgomery County Sheriff Derrick Cunningham said his friend was a “true peace maker.” “He would give you the shirt off his back. He’s a true law enforcement officer,” Cunningham said. “He loved y’all. He loved Lowndes County and he loved being sheriff.” U.S. Sen. Doug Jones said Williams was keeping the peace in Lowndes County “until his last breath.” Republished with the Permission of the Associated Press.
Former Sheriff David Abston sentenced to 18 months for food fraud
A judge on Monday sentenced a former Alabama sheriff to 18 months in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to scamming a food bank and his own small-town church to obtain inexpensive jail food and boost his personal income. U.S. District Judge Liles Burke sentenced former Pickens County Sherriff David Abston to serve 18 months for wire fraud and filing a false tax return, federal prosecutors said in a news release. Abston was ordered to pay $51,000 in restitution. Abston was sheriff for over 30 years until the accusations derailed his lengthy law enforcement career. He resigned and pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of filing a false tax return. Prosecutors said Abston in 2014 got the West Alabama Food Bank to agree to provide low-cost food to his own church, Highland Baptist of Gordo. The food bank agreed to provide food to help feed the poor, including poor children. Instead, much of the food went to the Pickens County Jail which Abston ran. The arrangement helped Abston boost his personal income, prosecutors said, because a state law at the time allowed sheriffs to pocket excess jail food funds. Legislators have since changed the law. “Abston tarnished his office and his badge,” U.S. Attorney Jay Town said in a statement. “He found out today he isn’t above the law. Those who believe they are will find themselves in federal prison.” Abston’s attorneys had asked for a sentence of home confinement and community service, citing his remorse and long history of public service. “While Sheriff Abston is deeply disappointed in today’s sentence, he has accepted responsibility for the wrong he committed and respects the court’s decision imposing consequences for his actions. He will serve his sentence, do what good he can during his period of incarceration, and then return to the community he loves to continue his life of community involvement,” Abston’s defense attorneys said in an emailed statement. Republished with the Permission of the Associated Press
Governor Kay Ivey: Sheriff John Williams shot, killed in line of duty
An Alabama sheriff was fatally shot Saturday evening in a community near the state’s capital, authorities announced, later saying they were seeking a man considered to be a “serious risk” who may be traveling on foot. Gov. Kay Ivey tweeted that Lowndes County Sheriff John Williams had been “tragically killed” in the line of duty and that she offered her prayers and sympathy to his family and the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department. Montgomery County Sheriff Derrick Cunningham told news outlets that Williams was shot at a gas station in the community of Hayneville, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southwest of Montgomery. Details remained sketchy as law enforcement agents converged on the community. Video from WSFA-TV showed a heavy law enforcement presence late Saturday outside a QV gas station. Alabama Law Enforcement Agency spokesman Cpl. Jess Thornton told reporters the State Bureau of Investigation was en route to the scene. Meanwhile, the state issued what it called an “emergency BLUE alert” that it was seeking an 18-year-old white man last seen at a QV gas station in the area at 8:15 p.m., the time of the reported shooting. The statement made no mention of the shooting or a possible connection to the man. The tall sheriff was known as “Big John.” Ivey paid tribute to him online, writing that in his years of service in the U.S. Marine Corps and “his many years working in law enforcement, he dedicated his life to keeping other people safe.” The sheriff was first elected in 2010, running as a Democrat. He was a Lowndes County native who started volunteering as a reserve deputy in 1978. He also worked for Hayneville police before joining the sheriff’s department full-time in 1987 and being appointed chief deputy in 1990. “Sheriff Williams always wanted to make a difference in his community and felt there was no better way to help his community than to protect and serve them in law enforcement,” the biography read. Lowndes County is predominantly black. It had a population of around 11,000 in the 2010 census. In 2007, more than 60 people gathered at the Lowndes County Courthouse to protest then-Gov. Bob Riley’s appointment of a white law enforcement officer to replace the county’s deceased sheriff. At the time, the county commission president said all five commissioners and other elected officials had recommended Williams, who is black, for the position. During his decades long career with the sheriff’s office, Williams notably in 2000 was the arresting officer of Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, a 1960s black militant who was known as H. Rap Brown before converting to Islam. Al-Amin was wanted and later convicted in the fatal 2000 shooting of a Fulton County sheriff’s deputy in Atlanta. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Sentencing set for former Sheriff David Abston
A one-time west Alabama sheriff is due in court to find out whether he must go to federal prison for fraud. A sentencing hearing is scheduled Monday in Birmingham for former Pickens County sheriff David Abston. The Tuscaloosa News reports Abston could receive 20 years in prison. But prosecutors have said they’ll accept less because Abston accepted responsibility and agreed to pay about $51,000 in restitution. Abston was sheriff for more than 30 years. He pleaded guilty in July to wire fraud and filing a false tax return. Prosecutors say Abston scammed a food bank and his church to pocket leftover money meant for feeding county prisoners. Abston took the money under a law that let sheriffs profit from jail kitchens. State legislators changed the law this year. Information from: The Tuscaloosa News, https://www.tuscaloosanews.com. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
JeffCo voters elect first African-American sheriff, DA
African-Americans have been elected for the first time to two of the top law enforcement positions in Alabama’s most populous county. Jefferson County voters around Birmingham elected black Democrat Mark Pettway as sheriff, turning back a re-election bid from longtime Republican incumbent Mike Hale, who is white. Voters also elected black Democrat Danny Carr as district attorney. He defeated white Republican Mike Anderton, who was appointed to the position last year. The county has about 660,000 residents and is almost evenly split racially. Pettway has spent more than 25 years in law enforcement and has worked for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office for nearly two decades. Carr is a longtime prosecutor who was working as chief assistant district attorney. He previously served as district attorney on an interim basis. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
JeffCo Sheriff, DA candidates face-off in debate
Jefferson County voters have more information about the candidates running for Jefferson County Sheriff and District Attorney (DA) thanks to a public debate hosted Sunday evening. DA candidates, Republican incumbent Mike Anderton and Democrat challenger Danny Carr faced-off first, before the Sheriff candidates, incumbent Republican Mike Hale and Democrat challenger Mark Pettway took the stage at the UAB campus. The debate was hosted by the Birmingham Association of Black Journalists and the Phi Iota Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. the debate also featured a voter education session, which answered questions such as: What issues will be on the ballot? How do you navigate the Alabama Voter website to find your polling place? How to register to vote. And how to absentee vote. DA debate Crime and recidivism Anderton: “My primary goal is to work with those who have gotten in trouble before, try to figure out why they have gotten in trouble,” Anderton said according to the Birmingham Times. “Is it poverty? Is it lack of education? Is it lack of a job?. . . Let’s work with those who have recently gotten out of prison or jail. So that we can work with them to take care of whatever their needs are. Theirs are just as important. They’re coming out and needing our help. “What we’ve got to do is make sure they have some hope, make sure they’ve got something in their future that they can walk to with pride and know that when they get there they’ve accomplished something.” Carr: “Make sure that we do things that benefit those individuals while they’re paying for the crime that they committed,” Carr said according to the Birmingham Times. “The worst thing that could happen is that they go in and come out worse . . . because then they come in our community [and cause even more problems]. We have to . . . make sure that you are placing people in the best position they can be in when they get out so that they won’t return to a life of crime.” Watch the DA debate below: Sheriff debate Body cameras Both candidates agreed that body cameras protect sheriff deputies and citizens. “This day and age there is no reason why we should not have body cameras,” explained Pettway. Watch the Sheriff debate below:
