ABI
A fatal shooting involving a Lee County deputy will be reviewed by the Alabama Bureau of Investigation. Authorities tell the Associated Press that 33-year-old Howard Edward Nevels III of Phenix City accelerated his car toward the deputy during a traffic stop in Smith Station on Saturday. The unidentified Lee County deputy shot Nevels who died early Sunday at a hospital in Columbus, Georgia. A statement by Lee County Coroner Bill Harris says Nevels was shot in the head. The body of Nevels was taken to a state laboratory in Montgomery for a post-mortem examination. Harris says that the ABI is heading the investigation.
INCENTIVES
A retirement incentive proposal from Governor Robert Bentley will not be needed before the next legislative session begins in February. In September Governor Bentley began talking about passing incentives for veteran state employees to retire in an effort to reduce the state’s payroll. The Associated Press reports that Bentley has decided the incentives are no longer needed because enough people are leaving state service and because the state is saving money in other areas. Alabama State Employees Association Director Mac McArthur says he doesn’t think the proposal was well-received and nearly everyone who expressed an interest in the retirement incentives was already planning to retire. More that 200 had expressed interest to the state Personnel Department, far fewer than the 2,600 who retired when the state last offered incentives in 1998.
CHEER
A three-vehicle accident last week involving a bus carrying cheerleaders from the University of Alabama has left a Georgia woman dead. Police tell the Associated Press that 20-year-old Natalie Baine of Roswell, Georgia, died Friday at a hospital in Mongomery. Baine was a passenger in a pickup truck that collided with the bus carrying University of Alabama cheerleaders last Tuesday. Officials say the but was taking the cheerleaders back to Tuscaloosa after the BCS championship football game in Miami. No one in the bus was injured, and occupants of a third vehicle suffered minor injuries. Baine was a student and a member of a sorority at the University of Alabama. Police say no charges were filed in the accident.
PASTOR
The Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office has issued warrants for Pastor Terry Greer after a shooting at a Gardendale home Thursday left his wife dead. Gardendale police Chief Mike Walker said in a news conference Friday that the 54-year-old Terry Greer shot his wife and his daugher with a pistol at their house. Pastor Greer’s daughter, 18-year-old Suzanna, was able to wrestle the gun away from him and run to a neighbor’s house for help. Investigators say Pastor Greer then grabbed a kitchen knife stabbed himself repeatedly in an apparent suicide attempt. Responding officers were able to restrain Greer before he further injured himself. All three family members were transported to UAB Hospital where 52-year-old Lisa Greer died from her injuries several hours later. Reverend Greer and daughter remain hospitalized. Gardendale Police Chief Mike Walker tells AL.com that Reverend Greer will remain under police guard until he can be transported to the Jefferson County Jail for murder and attempted murder. Terry Greer’s bond has been set at $135,000.
ACCIDENT
A teenager who was accidentally shot during a hunting trip in the western part of the state has died. Investigators with the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office say 13-year-old Will May died of a gunshot wound Saturday night after hunting with three other teenagers. May and the other teens, who are all 13-years-old, were leaving a private hunting area near Panola when a rifle belonging to one of the other teens accidentally fired, fatally wounding May. The Sheriff’s Office says no charges will be filed.
SHOOTING
Funeral services are set for an Alabama preacher’s wife who police say was slain by her husband in their church-owned home near Birmingham. Visitation for Lisa Greer will be held Monday night in her hometown of Scottsboro, and her funeral will be held Tuesday at the First United Methodist Church in Scottsboro. The 52-year-old Greer was the wife of the Rev. Terry Greer, pastor of Gardendale-Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church. Police say the man shot and killed his wife and wounded their 18-year-old daughter in the parsonage on Thursday. Authorities say Greer tried to stab himself to death after the slaying. He is charged with murder and attempted murder and is recovering after surgery. Terry Greer was well-known among north Alabama Methodists, pastoring a church with average attendance of about 670.
TURNER
Bud Turner was sworn into office today as the Circuit Judge in Calhoun County, replacing outgoing Judge Malcolm Street. Judge Street administered the oath of office shortly after 11 o’clock Monday morning in a courtroom full of judges, lawyers, and residents of the area. Turner said he originally planned on having a small, private investiture ceremony with close friends and family but decided to have the public ceremony after feedback from community members. Street is retiring because of a state law that does not allow judges older than 70-years-old. Circuit Judge Bud Turner said any changes from how Street managed his courtroom would not be big. “It’s an engine that ran straight down the tracks for so many years and I certainly don’t want to mess it up,” Turner said.
While Judge Street will be leaving the bench after 36 years, he does not plan on completely retiring. He said “I’ve got a couple of projects I want to help out on, get a good judge’s pattern charge book together and see if I can make it a little easier on these guys.” He said the book will be a reference for juries that includes statements of the law that can easily be interpreted by jurors without deep legal knowledge. The book will come from Street’s experience as a judge and contents will draw from court hearings over which he has presided. Street said he will also be available at the courthouse to help Judge Turner and others in the courthouse transition into new positions.
Calhoun County now has a new district judge with the investiture of Christopher McIntyre at the Calhoun County Courthouse today. McIntyre was joined by other robed judges and nearly 100 people in the audience as Judge Brian P. Howell administered the oath of office. McIntyre was then presented a new gavel by Calhoun County Republican Party Chairman Gene Howard.
McIntyre said he has worked with courthouse staff for over three years and is well-acquainted with employees within the system. He said that recent budget cuts in the court system along with jail overcrowding will make him evaluate rehabilitation programs for certain defendants that pass through his courtroom.
“There is limited funding but there are a lot of people doing rehabs,” McIntyre said. “Some of those people are private. I am going to get with them and see what kind of facilities they run and hopefully they will meet my approval.”
“I will be able to send those folks there [approved rehabilitation centers] and kind of ease the crowding in that way.”
LISTENING
The Anniston City Council begins its One City One Vision Listening Tour tonight at the Carver Community Center. Tonight’s Listening Tour will be the first of six that will be held at various community centers across the city through March. In the first public meeting of the new city council in November, the Listening Tours were described as a way for the council to hear input from community members about what topics are important to residents. The council hopes to use the listening tours along with citizen task forces to identify and address issues that affect Anniston neighborhoods and the city as a whole. Tonight’s event at the Carver Community Center is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. It is open to the public and there is no charge to attend.