Latest news with #DecaturPolice
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Attorney discusses wrongful death lawsuit that lists restaurants believed to have served driver in DUI crash
DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) — The family of Chloe Hastings, a 17-year-old girl who was tragically killed in a fiery car crash in Decatur, is taking legal action. On Tuesday, the family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Kevin Penich, the man charged with DUI and murder in the crash, and the establishments that they believe served him alcohol that night. Wrongful death lawsuit filed against man charged with murder in Beltline Road crash, Decatur businesses According to Decatur Police, the crash happened on May 17 at the intersection of Beltline Road and Westmead Street. News 19 spoke with the attorney representing the Hastings family in the lawsuit. Attorney Hunter Garnett said the goal is to ensure no other family has to go through what the Hastings family has gone through. 'The goal in this case is to make sure that there's not another Chloe Hastings,' Garnett said. 'That there are no more teenagers killed, due to the reckless conduct of drunk drivers, due to being overserved at a bar.' 'We believe that the evidence will show that Kevin Penich was intoxicated when he went into these establishments or became intoxicated as a result of being served alcohol,' Garnett said. Wrongful death lawsuit filed against man charged with murder in Beltline Road crash, Decatur businesses The lawsuit claims Penich was served alcohol at three Decatur restaurants located off of Beltline Road: Buffalo Wild Wings, Logan's Roadhouse, and Alfonso's Pizza. 'Our goal is to hold anybody that contributed to the harm responsible,' Garnett told News 19. 'These are large establishments that should know better than to serve somebody to the point of being this level of intoxicated.' The lawsuit cites the Alabama Dram Shop Act: 'The wife, child, parent, or other person who shall be injured in person, property or means of support by any intoxicated person or in consequence of the intoxication of any person shall have a right of action against any person, who shall, by selling, giving, or otherwise disposing of to another, contrary to the provisions of law, any liquors or beverages, cause the intoxication of such person for all damages actually sustained as well as exemplary damages.' It essentially claims that a person who is injured by someone who is intoxicated has the right to take action against the person who caused the person to be intoxicated. The lawsuit also cites a section of the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board Rules and Regulations that reads, 'no licensee or employee of a licensee shall serve or dispense alcoholic beverages to any person visibly intoxicated.' Garnett told News 19 that it is the responsibility of a person serving alcohol to do so responsibly. 'If you're a bartender, if you're a waitress, if you're anybody that serves alcohol, I want to stress that it's your job to make sure that when you have a patron that you don't overserve them,' Garnett said. He said that the family is seeking punitive damages in the lawsuit. He also explained that the wrongful death lawsuit will likely take a back seat while the criminal case against Kevin Penich moves through the court system. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Man charged with first-degree domestic violence in Decatur
DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) — The Decatur Police Department says a man was charged with first-degree domestic violence on Sunday. At about 12:53 a.m., officers responded to a domestic disturbance call at an apartment at Summer Courtyard Apartments. DPD said patrol officers arrived on the scene and found that Kobe Cowan had unlawfully entered and remained inside the apartment before he physically assaulted the person. A detective with the DPD's Family Services Division was notified of the incident and responded to the scene to investigate. Authorities said that Cowan was later found by a Decatur Police patrol officer and taken into custody without incident. Cowan was taken to the Morgan County Jail and charged with first-degree domestic violence. He was booked without bond, per Aniah's Law. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Decatur police run ‘Pack the Cruiser' food drive
DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) — Packing a police cruiser is normally a bad thing — but the Decatur Police Department flipped that on its head to help get food donations for those in need. Officers pulled an S.U.V. in front by a grocery store on airport plaza drive. For four hours they collected non-perishable items like peanut butter — pop-tarts — and more. They had some help from northeast community fund collecting the food — which will go to food banks in the Decatur area. Cancer survivors get together to celebrate National Cancer Survivors Day 'Everybody's been really, really generous, giving out, you know, canned goods and box foods and all the non-perishables,' Patrol Officer Tucker Tool said. 'So we're very, very excited and very pleased with the turnout. Look at the weather out here today, you know, and get to go out and, you know, talk to the community and interact with them and just, you know, have an overall great experience and for a good cause.' They also took monetary donations as well to get specific products that weren't donated on Saturday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
Two hospitalized after Decatur shooting, police seeking tips
DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) — Two people were hurt after a shooting in Decatur on Saturday. The Decatur Police Department said it happened near the area of Woodford and Walnut Streets around 3:50 p.m. Oberheim Baseball tournament held to honor fallen officer Police are still investigating. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact the Decatur Police Department at 217-424-2734. To make an anonymous tip, call the Macon County Crime Stoppers at 217-423-8477 (TIPS) or visit their website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Yahoo
Decatur man accused of sharing child sex material over social messaging app
DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) — A Decatur man is facing 15 felony counts alleging that he traded child pornography last year, while, according to him, he was high on drugs. Court records show that Tyler Pulliam, 34, was arrested earlier this year following a month-long investigation into his activity over the messaging app Kik. He's been charged with the following counts involving child pornography: 9 counts of reproducing or selling child pornography 4 counts of possessing film or photos of child pornography 2 counts of reproducing a moving depiction of child pornography On top of that, Pulliam is also facing a misdemeanor count of possessing a firearm without a FOID card. Machete-, shotgun-wielding man shot by officers in Macon arraigned In a sworn statement filed in the case, Decatur Police Detective Timothy Wisniewski said the investigation started in February when the Illinois Attorney General's Office received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The tip was eventually passed to Decatur Police because the IP address was registered to a Decatur address. The tip came from Kik, whose administrators observed on Aug. 14 a late-night uploading of 11 files that contained apparent child pornography. The account that made that upload — 'brattybratty7' — also logged into Kik several times on July 30 and July 31 and uploaded two composite images consisting of smaller images, each depicting children under the age of 13 engaged in sex. 'I also observed Kik account brattybratty7 sent a selfie-style photograph of a white male to another Kik user on 7-31-2025…which was sent during the timeframe this account was disseminating files containing child pornography to other Kik users,' Wisniewski said. 'The white male appeared to be Tyler based on my review of the body-worn camera video from the theft report he made in January 2025.' Wisniewski said all of the files uploaded to Kik were sent using the same IP address, which was registered to the Comcast account of a home on Division Street near Main and Water Streets. Taylorville Police arrest 'dangerous felon' after tracking him to their city Detectives served a search warrant for this home on March 28. They seized multiple computers and cell phones, one of which was found in Pulliam's bedroom. The computer's data showed that the email associated with the Kik account uploading child pornography was stored in the Google Chrome browser. Wisniewski said that during a mirandized interview, Pulliam admitted to previously using Kik but couldn't remember his username. Pulliam added that he has multiple email accounts that only he has access to — Wisniewski said one of those email accounts is associated with the Kik account uploading child pornography. 'Tyler discussed having prior strange late-night conversations of sexual nature with other people on Kik,' Wisniewski said. 'Tyler claimed he did not know when these conversations occurred but said they typically occurred when he was using ecstasy or hallucinogenic drugs.' Pulliam added that he is the only user of the computer found in his bedroom. The search of the home also revealed that Pulliam had a silver .25 caliber pistol and ammunition. His mother and aunt, who live in the home with him, denied ownership of the gun and said they rarely go upstairs, which is primarily Pulliam's area of the house. Pulliam does not possess a valid FOID card or a concealed carry license, Wisniewski said. UPDATE: Driver in deadly Mattoon nursing home crash pleads not guilty Pulliam was arrested after the search of his home and was booked into the Macon County Jail. Except for his court hearings, he's been there ever since; he was denied pretrial release by Judge Lindsey Shelton. Waiving his right to a preliminary hearing, Pulliam pleaded not guilty to all 16 of the counts against him. He is due back in court on June 6 for a pretrial hearing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
