Latest news with #Decatur
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Hands Across Decatur extends hours due to heat
DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) — With the heat that's coming this week, Hands Across Decatur will be open with extended hours this week for those who need shelter. HAD, located on 1027 5th Avenue SE in Decatur, will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday, July 21. Tuesday through Thursday, they'll be open an hour later, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The shelter is normally closed Friday through Sunday, but HAD says they'll play it by ear, depending on the weather. Lunch is served from 11 a.m. to noon. Those wanting to donate to HAD can do so through the following options: Paypal: donate@ Cashapp: $haddecatur Venmo: @Had2Be Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Decatur police chief implements leadership classes for officers
DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) — On Monday, Decatur Police Chief Torry Mack began the first in a series of police officer trainings to do what he describes as improving the quality of the department. When Mack was sworn in on June 2, he vowed to restructure the police department, and he said that starts with additional training. Mack brought in national communications specialist Darryl Rivers for the 4-day sessions. Hands Across Decatur extends hours due to heat Rivers had spent his entire adult life as part of the government, including 17 years as a police officer, sergeant and lieutenant. For nearly two years, the Decatur Police Department has been under heavy scrutiny since the police shooting death of Stephen Perkins in September 2023. The department drew more criticism in April with the death of John Scott Jr., who was arrested by police while experiencing an apparent mental health crisis. 'Leadership is not defined with what's on your collar. You could be a born leader, or you can be a leader,' Mack explained. 'Mr. Rivers is going to make a lot of leaders today with his message.' Rivers drilled the police officers on the meaning of earning respect with your ears and then losing that respect with your mouth. 'From time to time, the biggest part of communication is actually listening, and we as human beings don't do that all that well, so we elect to speak before we listen,' Rivers explained. A city-commissioned independent review released in January found Decatur police officers needed more training both on the law and how they interact with the public. Mack said he wants all of his police officers in the department to be trained as leaders in changing the perception of the department. 'This class today is for the sergeants and below or the officers that are aspiring to be sergeants,' said Mack. 'Just to give them a feel of what it takes to be a competent and a professional leader.' Mack added that he is focused on several issues detailed in the review. Rivers told News 19 that his goal for the officers is to believe that they are leaders both in and outside of the department in order to change its public perception. 'Sometimes people feel that the law enforcement community really isn't in tune with the plight of society, so I feel as though one of the main things that law enforcement could do is literally sit back and listen sometimes in order to understand how to best solve problems, issues and situations,' Rivers said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
The Independent
09-07-2025
- The Independent
Alabama attorney general pushes for trial of an ex-officer accused of fatally shooting an armed man
A former Alabama police officer charged with murder for shooting an armed Black man in the man's front yard during a dispute with a tow-truck driver shouldn't be granted immunity before going to trial, the state's attorney general says. In a court brief filed late Tuesday, Attorney General Steve Marshall said a lower court was correct in ruling that former Decatur police officer Mac Marquette, 25, failed to show "a clear legal right to prosecutorial immunity' when he fatally shot Stephen Perkins on Sept. 29, 2023. Shortly before 2 a.m., Marquette and two other officers accompanied the tow truck driver to repossess Perkins' pickup truck at his home in Decatur. When Perkins emerged from his house pointing a gun at the truck driver, Marquette fired 18 bullets less than two seconds after the officers emerged from a concealed position and identified themselves as law enforcement, according to body camera footage. The appeals court decision, and the fate of the trial, hinges on Alabama's ' stand your ground ' law, which grants immunity from prosecution to anyone who uses deadly force as long as they reasonably believe they're in danger and are somewhere they're rightfully allowed to be. Alabama allows judges to determine if someone acted in self-defense before a case goes to trial. After a Morgan County judge denied Marquette immunity in April, the ex-officer's lawyers asked the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to overturn the decision. The appeals court said the circuit judge's decision was a 'gross abuse of discretion' because the judge didn't give enough weight to Marquette's assertion that he feared for his life after Perkins pointed his gun at the officer before he was shot. If the appeals court rules against Marquette, he will go to trial in September. The shooting drew regular protests in the north Alabama city, and the three officers were fired after personnel hearings. Marquette is white. While the attorney general's brief didn't contest that Marquette feared for his life, he argued that witnesses in a pre-trial hearing failed to establish that Marquette was at Perkins' house on legitimate police duty, and therefore 'there remain open questions regarding whether he had a legal right" to be there. The brief, written by the Assistant Attorney General Kristi Wilkerson, pointed to conflicting testimony from the two officers who were with Marquette when he shot Perkins. One officer testified that the three officers were at Perkins' house to investigate a misdemeanor menacing charge since Perkins had previously pulled a gun on the tow truck driver in an attempt to repossess Perkins' truck earlier that night. The other officer testified that he was unaware of a menacing investigation, saying that he believed they were there to assist in 'keeping the peace.' Alabama law requires a court order for law enforcement to be involved in a vehicle repossession — which the officers didn't have. Testimony from a state agent who investigated the shooting, Jamie King, also conflicted with both officers' accounts of the moments leading up to the shooting. King said that while Marquette may have feared for his life, the three officers were not positioned in an effective way to keep the peace or to investigate menacing since they were intentionally out of Perkins' view until seconds before the shooting. Marquette's attorneys have argued that there is more than one way to conduct police operations. In light of the ambiguity, Marshall's office said deference should be given to the trial court's position, and that a jury "alone is in the best position to determine the trustworthiness of testimony presented to it.' All parties in the case are prohibited from speaking to the media. ___
Associated Press
09-07-2025
- Associated Press
Alabama attorney general pushes for trial of an ex-officer accused of fatally shooting an armed man
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A former Alabama police officer charged with murder for shooting an armed Black man in the man's front yard during a dispute with a tow-truck driver shouldn't be granted immunity before going to trial, the state's attorney general says. In a court brief filed late Tuesday, Attorney General Steve Marshall said a lower court was correct in ruling that former Decatur police officer Mac Marquette, 25, failed to show 'a clear legal right to prosecutorial immunity' when he fatally shot Stephen Perkins on Sept. 29, 2023. Shortly before 2 a.m., Marquette and two other officers accompanied the tow truck driver to repossess Perkins' pickup truck at his home in Decatur. When Perkins emerged from his house pointing a gun at the truck driver, Marquette fired 18 bullets less than two seconds after the officers emerged from a concealed position and identified themselves as law enforcement, according to body camera footage. The appeals court decision, and the fate of the trial, hinges on Alabama's ' stand your ground ' law, which grants immunity from prosecution to anyone who uses deadly force as long as they reasonably believe they're in danger and are somewhere they're rightfully allowed to be. Alabama allows judges to determine if someone acted in self-defense before a case goes to trial. After a Morgan County judge denied Marquette immunity in April, the ex-officer's lawyers asked the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to overturn the decision. The appeals court said the circuit judge's decision was a 'gross abuse of discretion' because the judge didn't give enough weight to Marquette's assertion that he feared for his life after Perkins pointed his gun at the officer before he was shot. If the appeals court rules against Marquette, he will go to trial in September. The shooting drew regular protests in the north Alabama city, and the three officers were fired after personnel hearings. Marquette is white. While the attorney general's brief didn't contest that Marquette feared for his life, he argued that witnesses in a pre-trial hearing failed to establish that Marquette was at Perkins' house on legitimate police duty, and therefore 'there remain open questions regarding whether he had a legal right' to be there. The brief, written by the Assistant Attorney General Kristi Wilkerson, pointed to conflicting testimony from the two officers who were with Marquette when he shot Perkins. One officer testified that the three officers were at Perkins' house to investigate a misdemeanor menacing charge since Perkins had previously pulled a gun on the tow truck driver in an attempt to repossess Perkins' truck earlier that night. The other officer testified that he was unaware of a menacing investigation, saying that he believed they were there to assist in 'keeping the peace.' Alabama law requires a court order for law enforcement to be involved in a vehicle repossession — which the officers didn't have. Testimony from a state agent who investigated the shooting, Jamie King, also conflicted with both officers' accounts of the moments leading up to the shooting. King said that while Marquette may have feared for his life, the three officers were not positioned in an effective way to keep the peace or to investigate menacing since they were intentionally out of Perkins' view until seconds before the shooting. Marquette's attorneys have argued that there is more than one way to conduct police operations. In light of the ambiguity, Marshall's office said deference should be given to the trial court's position, and that a jury 'alone is in the best position to determine the trustworthiness of testimony presented to it.' All parties in the case are prohibited from speaking to the media. ___ Riddle is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Daily Mail
06-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Killer spits on prosecutors as he is handed three life sentences for gunning down daughter's mom
A Georgia man convicted of murdering his 18-month-old daughter's mother spat at the prosecution team moments after being sentenced to three consecutive life terms for the 2022 shooting death. Taco Nash, 25, was forcibly removed from the courtroom following the vile outburst after a DeKalb County jury found him guilty of killing 22-year-old Mi'ckeya Montgomery. 'Today was the day that they got to see the real him. The rest was a façade…he's a sociopath,' said Jasmine Walters, Montgomery's aunt. Nash was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, along with two additional life sentences and 60 years for the fatal shooting of Montgomery outside their daughter's daycare in Decatur on June 15, 2022. Montgomery's family expressed relief after the sentencing claiming, 'He's right where he needs to be.' Prosecutors revealed that Nash, who had a violent and problem-riddled relationship with Montgomery, had previously been ordered by a judge to have no contact with her. Despite this, the young dad repeatedly called Nash the morning of the shooting, asking to meet and retrieve his belongings, according to DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston. Montgomery ignored Nash's calls and went to pick up their daughter from daycare where staff, aware of the court order, was told to call 911 if he ever appeared at the business. Nash confronted Montgomery outside the daycare before eventually forcing his way into the building and threatening to shoot her if she didn't leave with him and their daughter. During the aggressive back-and-forth, an employee at the Education Elevation daycare facility called the police, The New York Post reported. Nash, Montgomery and their daughter Khloe, then exited the daycare through a rear door and headed into a wooded area behind the facility. Employees still inside the childcare center reported hearing screams and a single gunshot as police arrived and began searching the area. Nash emerged moments later holding the blood-covered child and claimed that Montgomery had shot herself. However, investigators determined that Montgomery's gunshot wound to the head was inconsistent with self-infliction, ruling her death a homicide. The gun was found under her hand, and police believe she was holding her daughter when she was killed. The child, who was not injured, was rushed to the hospital. Before Nash emerged from the woods, he called one of Montgomery's relatives, apologizing for the shooting, according to the District Attorney. Following a trial on July 2, 2025, Nash was convicted of Malice Murder, four counts of Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault – Family Violence, two counts of Kidnapping, Aggravated Stalking, Cruelty to Children in the First Degree, and several firearms-related offenses, WSB-TV reported. DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Brian Lake imposed a sentence of life without parole, two additional life sentences, and 60 years, marking the end of a lengthy legal battle for Montgomery's family.
