Latest news with #DecaturPoliceDepartment
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Decatur man facing domestic violence charge after alleged assault
Jun. 2—A man was arrested early Sunday morning and charged with first degree domestic violence after allegedly breaking into an apartment in Southwest Decatur and physically assaulting a person inside, according to the Decatur Police Department. Kobe Malik Cowan, 20, of Decatur was being held in Morgan County Jail with no bond pending an Aniah's Law hearing. Police said they responded to a domestic disturbance at 2222 Acadia Drive S.W. around 12:53 a.m. and determined that Cowan had unlawfully entered and remained inside the apartment before assaulting the victim. He was later located by a patrol officer and taken into custody. Cowan has been out on bond for a prior felony charge of second-degree receiving stolen property involving a firearm stolen from Bama Pawn, according to a police affidavit. — or 256-340-2442.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Yahoo
Man arrested on insurance fraud warrant in Decatur
DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) – A man was arrested on an insurance fraud warrant on Monday after police said he made a false report of an insurance claim for a value of about $70,000. According to the Decatur Police Department, Billy Michael Johnson II was arrested on May 12 when he was located in the 900 block of Boys Ranch Road. Police said on April 5, officers responded to a wreck on Duncansby Drive in Decatur and located an unoccupied 2024 Chevrolet Corvette with substantial damage in the intersection. DPD said they determined it had hit a vehicle just west of where it was found and both of those vehicles were towed from the scene. On the same day, DPD said Johnson, who was the registered owner of the Corvette, had reported it stolen, and his case was assigned to a property crimes detective. DPD's investigation led them to obtain probable cause to confirm Johnson had made a false report and insurance claim, committing insurance fraud for a value of about $70,000. A warrant for his arrest was issued on May 8. Johnson was transported to the Morgan County Jail, where he was booked and held on a $30,000 bond. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Yahoo
Three charged in Decatur-area theft cases involving former employees
May 10—Decatur police recently charged three people with theft after they allegedly were involved in two separate schemes to steal from their employers. A Madison man and his son were charged with first-degree theft of property after allegedly keeping thousands of dollars collected from customers for contracting work and failing to return the money to the company that employed them, according to a Decatur police detective's affidavit. The affidavit states that Griffin Scott Littlefield, 64, of Madison, and his son, Griffin Scott Littlefield II, 27, of Athens, were employed by an Athens-based construction company during May and June 2024. "During those months, both of the Littlefields conducted multiple contracting jobs within the city of Decatur for the business," the affidavit said. "During those months, both Littlefields collected well over $2,500 from customers and withheld the money from the business before quitting." In November 2024, the business owner contacted the Decatur Police Department to report the thefts, according to the affidavit. The Littlefields stole approximately $60,000 from the Athens business, with nearly $8,000 of the theft reportedly occurring within Decatur city limits, according to the Decatur Police Department. The Police Department said the younger Littlefield was located by the Athens Police Department on May 1 and placed under arrest for his active warrant, then transferred to the custody of Decatur police and placed in the Morgan County Jail. The elder Littlefield turned himself in to the Decatur Police Department on Tuesday and was booked into the Morgan County Jail. They were released after each posted a $5,000 bond, according to jail records. Another theft of property involving a theft from Discount Tobacco Outlet on Beltline Road Southwest occurred in June 2024, according to Decatur police, when a former employee of the business allegedly removed multiple business deposits from their safe, totaling over $2,000. Trinity resident Amy Nicole Bridges, 52, was identified as the primary suspect in the theft and a warrant was issued for her arrest in August 2024, according to police. Police said she was arrested Wednesday by the Trinity Police Department on the warrant and charged with first-degree theft of property. Bridges was booked into Morgan County Jail and held in lieu of a $5,000 bond and jail records show she bonded out Thursday. — or 256-340-2442.
Winnipeg Free Press
09-05-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Alabama ex-officer insists he had ‘stand your ground' right when he shot an armed Black man
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A former Alabama police officer who shot an armed Black man is trying to win back his claim to self-defense before his upcoming murder trial, and appealed a judge's pretrial decision as a 'gross abuse of discretion.' The appeal 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. Mac Marquette, 25, is charged with murder in the fatal shooting of Steve Perkins shortly before 2 a.m. in September 2023. Marquette and two other officers were accompanying a tow-truck driver to repossess Perkins' pickup truck at his home in Decatur. When Perkins emerged from his house with a gun, Marquette fired 18 bullets less than two seconds after identifying himself as law enforcement, according to body camera footage. Court documents filed on Thursday said the judge erroneously ruled against Marquette based on his assessment that Marquette didn't sufficiently prove he had a right to be on Perkins' property. Alabama allows judges to determine if someone acted in self defense before a case goes to trial. The judge said Alabama law requires a court order for law enforcement to be involved in a vehicle repossession — which the officers didn't have. Marquette's lawyers say the judge should have given more weight to the fact that Perkins pointed his gun at the officer before he was shot. They say Marquette reasonably felt that running away from Perkins would've put him in more danger than standing his ground. The defense also says the officers had a legitimate reason to be there, based on the 'custom, pattern, and practice of the Decatur Police Department' and because their supervisor authorized it. Both officers who were with Marquette testified they weren't there to assist in the repossession, but were instead there to 'keep the peace' and to 'investigate' Perkins for pulling a gun on the tow-truck driver in an earlier repossession attempt. The state agent who investigated Perkins' death testified in March that the way that the officers set up wasn't standard for either of those tasks, but also said that Marquette had a reason to fear for his life. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. All parties in the case are prohibited from speaking to the media. The hearing comes on the heels of two years of intense protest about Perkins' death in the northern Alabama city of approximately 60,000 people. A Black man experiencing a mental health crisis died in Decatur Police Department custody in April. Body camera footage showing police officers punching and tasing him repeatedly reignited debate over police misconduct in the area. Marquette's attorneys requested a postponement of the trial originally set for June, and a chance to present oral arguments in front of the Alabama Criminal Court of Appeals. ___ 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.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Yahoo
Alabama ex-officer insists he had 'stand your ground' right when he shot an armed Black man
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A former Alabama police officer who shot an armed Black man is trying to win back his claim to self-defense before his upcoming murder trial, and appealed a judge's pretrial decision as a 'gross abuse of discretion.' The appeal 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. Mac Marquette, 25, is charged with murder in the fatal shooting of Steve Perkins shortly before 2 a.m. in September 2023. Marquette and two other officers were accompanying a tow-truck driver to repossess Perkins' pickup truck at his home in Decatur. When Perkins emerged from his house with a gun, Marquette fired 18 bullets less than two seconds after identifying himself as law enforcement, according to body camera footage. Court documents filed on Thursday said the judge erroneously ruled against Marquette based on his assessment that Marquette didn't sufficiently prove he had a right to be on Perkins' property. Alabama allows judges to determine if someone acted in self defense before a case goes to trial. The judge said Alabama law requires a court order for law enforcement to be involved in a vehicle repossession — which the officers didn't have. Marquette's lawyers say the judge should have given more weight to the fact that Perkins pointed his gun at the officer before he was shot. They say Marquette reasonably felt that running away from Perkins would've put him in more danger than standing his ground. The defense also says the officers had a legitimate reason to be there, based on the 'custom, pattern, and practice of the Decatur Police Department" and because their supervisor authorized it. Both officers who were with Marquette testified they weren't there to assist in the repossession, but were instead there to 'keep the peace' and to 'investigate' Perkins for pulling a gun on the tow-truck driver in an earlier repossession attempt. The state agent who investigated Perkins' death testified in March that the way that the officers set up wasn't standard for either of those tasks, but also said that Marquette had a reason to fear for his life. All parties in the case are prohibited from speaking to the media. The hearing comes on the heels of two years of intense protest about Perkins' death in the northern Alabama city of approximately 60,000 people. A Black man experiencing a mental health crisis died in Decatur Police Department custody in April. Body camera footage showing police officers punching and tasing him repeatedly reignited debate over police misconduct in the area. Marquette's attorneys requested a postponement of the trial originally set for June, and a chance to present oral arguments in front of the Alabama Criminal Court of Appeals. ___ 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.
