Two-Way Race for Senate...or Three-Way?/How Many Times Did Deputy Shoot?

 

Mo Brooks After Congressional Shooting

Many Montgomery pundits are saying it will be a Luther Strange-Roy Moore Republican runoff for U.S. Senate. Others are saying it could possibly be Luther Strange-Mo Brooks. Really?

Let's see, pick the most dishonest politician you can think of in Alabama. Yep, that would be Luther Strange. Next, pick the kookiest. Yep, that would be Roy Moore who once called Mad Cow Disease a political plot. Is this what Alabama deserves?

Perhaps these two men are what the state deserves if the majority of voters support them. Why do they support them? Mo Brooks may not be perfect, but he's not a nut-job and he's not dishonest (that we know of; we welcome comments). 

Mo Brooks is the state's best bet. Let's give him a chance.

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This is just a random thought: A man, with presumed mental problems, attempted to back over a Lauderdale County Sheriff's deputy last week. How many times did the deputy shoot him? Take you time...

Kudos to the deputy for keeping his head. No one was hurt, James Allen Burbank was arrested, and the D.A. has one less case to consider. 

Florence Hoteliers Sing "Too Little, Too Late" Blues

As it stands now, we don't support the tennis complex; however, we are amused by one of the arguments of Florence hoteliers against it. Yes, the proposed complex aids the Marriott more than other hotels. That's what the attraction is designed to do. That's what it was designed to do ten years ago. Why didn't you protest then?

It's rather like UNA objecting to a new Florence middle school when it had almost ten years to do so and didn't. No matter how anyone feels about the viability of a tennis complex, that particular argument against it holds no water.

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We've had one reader ask if the contract reference to the attraction could be changed, as was the law on the termination of the two-cent gasoline tax. Unlike our legislature which can change laws on whim, it would take both sides to change the contract, so basically the answer is no.

While we supported the ag-center, we did have qualms about the law being changed by our representatives after a promise was made to the residents of Lauderdale County. This is certainly something to remember the next time such a promise is made.

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Speaking of UNA, at least two of our readers have asked why the name of the officer who shot Poodles hasn't been published. We have no idea supported by anything the university has said, but it probably boils down to the fact officials don't legally have to identify the officer. Or perhaps the university is concerned that Poodles may have friends of the type who would retaliate against the officer.

We have heard a name, but we doubt what we heard is correct or spelled even close to correctly. In the end, unless he's indicted for some reason, we don't see it being released, at least by UNA.

Ping, Ping, Telephone Ping - Sachiko Basden

The latest on the mobile belonging to missing Tuscumbia woman Sachiko Basden is that it's on; she's just not answering. In such cases, it's very easy for law enforcement to get a court order to ping the phone, showing its location within meters. Some phone companies will do this for whoever pays the bill; in other words if there are four phones on a Verizon account, the account holder may have any one of them pinged and located. We have no idea how Ms. Basden's phone is set up, but surely authorities know where it is...if it's indeed on. 

Richmond Hills, a Tuscumbia subdivision where the Basdens live, is close to the Valdosta Highway. Surely the police wanted to ensure she hadn't been hit in busy traffic. Surely the police know the last person she called and who called her last and got an answer. 

Ms. Basden doesn't seem to have any family here with the exception of her husband and children. Her children (or at least some of them) use a different last name, so we may assume there's an ex-husband out there somewhere. Why would she have left four children behind? She has no money, no identification, and no vehicle. There have been no search parties or tracking dogs. Someone obviously knows something.

The whole thing is troubling since so many are thinking the worst. If Sachiko Basden wanted to embarrass her family, she's done it. If her family wanted to embarrass her, they've certainly done it.

Ms. Basden, if you're out there, it's time to come home. Please.

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A few years ago, a single man from Tuscaloosa married a woman with two children. Apparently he wasn't accustomed to the chaos, and arguments often ensued. One Friday night, there was a knock-down, drag-out (at least figuratively), and the man drove away, leaving his phone and billfold behind. When he hadn't returned by Saturday morning, his wife did the most logical thing - she took to Facebook.

Everyone felt sure the young husband would return by Sunday night and make it to work on Monday morning, but he didn't. At that point, everyone then thought he was probably dead or halfway to California. Then on Monday night he showed up as if nothing had happened.

He hadn't eaten in four days and had been sleeping in his vehicle in a parking garage. If a divorce or murder followed, we never read about it...

Missing, Missing, Missing, Missing!

Police report that as of three days ago the Shoals and its surrounding areas have a new missing person to add to the list. There have been conflicting reports about the status of the Tuscumbia woman's phone; we can hope she will return soon and all will be well with her and her family. What about the other three?

Susie Lanier - Mrs. Lanier has been gone five weeks. Her purse and cell phone were left behind. Lanier may return to her family, but we'll be honest enough to comment that the odds are pretty long on that and get longer each day. If there was a crime committed, things are complicated by authorities not knowing if the event took place in Tishomingo County, Mississippi, or Colbert County, Alabama. 

Shawn Childers - Mr. Childers has been missing from Lauderdale County since September 2016, or roughly 10 months. Childers' family believes he was the victim of foul play and have incriminated his roommate David Randall Nix who has been caught out in several lies. Without more than circumstantial evidence, authorities have not been able to make an arrest.  

Janson Brewer - Mr. Brewer has been missing from Lawrence County, Tennessee, since August 2016, or roughly 11 months. It's entirely possible that Brewer and his companion simply left the area in an attempt to start a new life, but his family desperately wants to know where he is. 

Perhaps you have a small piece of information that you feel has no value. Let authorities judge. Contact them at the numbers listed. We all need help from time to time. How would you feel if this was your family?

Puddles Probably Sans Pity for Poodles

From a reader:

Do you think "Poodles" has a chance to win a lawsuit?

Our answer: We may be off on some of the details of this similar incident, but not many...

The officer saw the man driving erratically in his attempt to beat the traffic. He turned on his blue lights and stopped the black male driver. The driver then saw that the officer was a game warden and drove off. The game warden again gave pursuit until the driver stopped a second time. As the driver attempted to retrieve his license, the game warden felt threatened and shot the man dead. The driver's family portrayed him as the injured party and eventually won some kind of lawsuit.

Wrongful death lawsuits are civil and are usually heard by a jury. So, yes, anything is possible in these cases. Yet even if Poodles should win, she will still be facing legal consequences for her actions. A Florence man was recently sentenced to life in prison for attempting to murder a police officer; Poodles may fare no better

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From another reader:

Your blog is not only informative but a source of entertainment for me. I have really enjoyed reading about poodles lately. I don't know if you know this or not but there is actually a band called puddles pity party. I'm not joking. They're going to be in Birmingham sometime this year and I saw it on Ticketmasters website. I just thought that you might want to use that tidbit in your blog some time. Maybe they're trying to raise money for her to defense!

SAT JUL 29 8PM Puddles Pity Party Iron City Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 

 

Our answer:

 

Yes, we've certainly heard of Puddles, in fact due to another member of our blog. Perhaps Puddles would do a show for Poodles...uh, no, we're guessing no. 

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What's Deaf, Dumb, & Blind and Costs 3.5 Million Dollars?

 

 

 

 

Police Officers Not Doing Their Jobs?

As a former law enforcement officer, it bothers me that I no longer see law enforcement officers in The Shoals conducting traffic stops.  We love to gripe and complain about Shoals drivers, but often fail to make the connection between poor driving characteristics of area drivers with the lack of traffic laws enforcement.  Some local LEOs that I have mentioned my concerns to offer up the following 'excuses':

* We're too busy responding to criminal activity.

* We've been told NOT to issue too many traffic citations.

* Working traffic is boring.

My responses to the above excuses have been:

* The crime reports in the TD don't support this response.  Either the officer isn't being truthful, the local LE agencies are under-reporting crime stats, or the TD isn't reporting all criminal activity.

* The various city councils and/or mayors issuing these edicts should be removed from office at the next election.

* WHY are you wearing a badge?  Are you a REAL law enforcement officer, or are you simply wearing a badge because you think it's 'cool'?  DO YOUR JOB! Please.

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We'll be looking at Sheffield police in the next few days. Do they single out certain individuals? If you have any experience with Sheffield officers, let us hear.

Jason Dewayne Green: Liar, Drunk, Thief, Murderer

First, Shoalanda hasn't made any plans to murder anyone...well, at least any that she would really carry out. Yet if accused of murder or any other serious crime, she would make a bee-line to Billy Underwood's office. Billy always tells it like it is and he has integrity.

 

 

Jason Dewayne Green

What does Jason Dewayne Green have? An AIS number and a bunk at a medium security prison. 

When Green was free, he ran a junk business with his father. He also stole cars - a nice sideline if you own a place that sells scrap metal. We guess he needed the money to buy the alcohol that fueled his drunken rages against an innocent woman whose only crime was loving and trusting him. 

Of course Green denies killing Shay Ledlow. He claims he only gave her the gun and told her to use it. Did Shay actually kill herself? Forensics proved it was impossible for the shooting to have played out as Green claims. 

Green received some excellent advice from Billy Underwood and took a manslaughter plea, avoiding a life sentence for Felony Murder. For those who may not know, manslaughter is punishable by 10 to 15 years, or up to 20 years if it involves a gun. There is no Correctional Incentive Time (Good Time) on sentences above 15 years.

Now all that information is available online at the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles site. It's also something that Mr. Underwood carefully explained to Green, but now Shay Ledlow's murderer is claiming it wasn't adequately explained. He's maintaining that he thought he would do only eight years. The bottom line is that Jason Dewayne Green wants a new trial.  

We're sure that if Shay Ledlow could speak, she would say she wanted to live...but Jason Dewayne Green robbed her of that chance.