John Clark Burns Jr./Local Police Turnover

On July 7, 2013, John Clark Burns Jr. of Florence was arrested in that city and charged with a DUI. Sources say alcohol had been a problem in Burns’ life for quite some time.

Almost exactly two months afterward, in the early morning hours of Sunday, September 8th, Burns left On the Rocks, a bar in downtown Florence, and began a drive that would change at least his immediate future. With the then 25 year-old Burns was his girlfriend Brittany Marie Underwood, also 25.

Burns drove northward toward Cypress Inn, Tennessee. As he approached a sharp right turn in the highway, Burns continued to drive in a straight line at a very high rate of speed. His truck plowed into a local landmark, the Darby store building. Both the store and Burns’ truck were consumed in the flames, and Underwood died at the scene. Burns himself escaped with his life, but spent weeks in Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville.

Most of the details of the crash were reported in only the Wayne County newspaper which is not online. When this blog reported on the event, it received severe criticism, was accused of making up the whole scenario, and even worse.

However, by the time Burns was arrested on Vehicular Homicide charges, no one came to his defense. Nor did anyone who had accused this blog of inventing the whole drunk driving scenario apologize. It’s not too late—we’d love to hear what you have to say now.

Underwood’s family sued On the Rocks for five million dollars, but apparently let Burns’ insurance company, with much shallower pockets, off the hook. We had heard that the family continued to support Burns, and events of last month bear this out.

More on John Clark Burns

From a Tennessee news item dated April 21, 2016:

John Clark Burns Jr. pled and was found guilty of vehicular homicide by intoxication. He was sentenced to eight years in TDOC, which was reduced to eight years supervised probation. The probation is to be supervised in Tennessee until all costs are paid in full, then unsupervised. Burns received a loss of driving privileges for three years. The judgment states that the parents of the victim have requested no jail time for Burns, but due to the seriousness of the offense, the parties have reached an agreement for Burns to serve sixty days. The father of the victim stated that he understands the reasoning behind the sentencing

In case you’re wondering, eight years is the minimum in a Vehicular Homicide sentence in Tennessee. Do “all costs” include reimbursing the insurance companies, especially the loss of the Darby store? We don’t know, but we do know that Burns’ family once owned BurnsCraft, a company that manufactured yachts. In other words, they’re not poor, and John Clark Burns Jr. may soon be out of jail and on unsupervised probation.

*****

City and Town Employee Turnover.

By: The Midnight Rider

Recently there was a news story on various News Stations out of Huntsville, Alabama, about the loss of Police Officers from the City of Madison Police Department. It appears that Madison, Alabama is feeling the effects of employee turnover. It is my understanding that the City of Madison is a good place to work with salary, benefits, and overall perks. But, it got me to thinking about the Shoals area.

For some time, the small towns (Littleville, Cherokee, Killen) lost employees to the bigger cities such as Sheffield, Muscle Shoals and Florence. I am not just talking about the Police Departments but the Fire Departments also. These people left the Towns for better pay or better benefits. Let’s look at little closer. The basis and information for the following comes from Town/City Websites and/or newspaper articles.

For a long time, Tuscumbia Police Department had a huge turnover. It seemed that it was the “training ground” for new Officers. People would get hired and leave as soon as they could. Pay was the main source of this problem. It was too low. Morale was down. It appears that Tony Logan becoming Chief of Police has slowed that process down. Employees seem to be happy with their jobs there.

Now it appears that the City of Sheffield Police Department is the place with the most employee turnover. I saw a Sheffield Police calendar from 2010 that had the employee’s pictures on it. I counted 11 people that were no longer there. How many employees have been lost or left since 2010? I don’t know but I am going to find out.

The direct quote from WHNT 19 News from the Madison, Alabama Police Department Detective (Grigsby) as he gave the speech about turnover to the City Council was “"The Madison Police Department, as recently as last year, had officers acting as Field Training Officers with less than two years of service as a police officer. How could this happen? Why are rookies training rookies? My belief is an excessively high turnover rate within the department. Young officers have been forced to be field training officers due to a lack of experienced personnel to do those jobs,"

Is this happening in this area? Do we have Rookies training Rookies? I know at Sheffield Police Department there are not a lot of the “Old” Officers there. But it is not just the Police Department. Reading the Times Daily, it is in the Sheffield Fire Department as well. It seems that every time there is a City Council meeting, the Council is hiring another Fireman because someone has left to go somewhere else.

Furthermore as reported on WHNT 19 News, “Detective Grigsby told the council that his concerns go beyond experience levels. They also cost the department and the city money. 81 people have been hired and left the department in seven years," he said. "This extremely high turnover rate has cost the city tens of thousands of dollars in training costs, equipment costs, and not to mention overtime being paid to officers to cover personnel shortages."

It appears that the Shoals area has the same problems as the City of Madison.

To be continued………….

I am and always will be, the midnight rider

John Clark Burns Jr. Faces April 28th Court Date

Lauderdale County Mug Shot

From the Wayne County News:

On Tuesday, February 27, 2015 John Clark Burns, Jr. 26 of Florence, AL was booked into Wayne County Jail when he turned himself in on a warrant issued for his arrest. He has bonded out on a $10,000.00 bond. Burns has been charged with vehicular homicide in connection with an accident in the early hours of September 9, 2013 when, according to a THP report, he was traveling too fast to safely maneuver a sharp curve and traveled up an embankment and into the Old Darby Store in Cypress Inn. His girlfriend, Brittany M. Underwood of Tuscumbia died in the crash and subsequent fire that ignited after the impact. Burns was injured and air flighted to Vanderbilt Medical Center. According to an article in the Times Daily, Brittany’s family has filed a $5,000,000.00 law suit against a Florence nightclub for serving a visibly intoxicated person and letting him leave without offering alternative transportation. The outcome of the case is still pending. Before the fatal accident, Burns had been arrested for DUI. The preliminary hearing for Burns is scheduled for Tuesday, April 28, 2015 in General Sessions Court at the Wayne County Criminal Justice Center.

*****

In Tennessee, Vehicular Homicide is codified as: 

(a)  Vehicular homicide is the reckless killing of another by the operation of an automobile, airplane, motorboat or other motor vehicle, as the proximate result of:

     (1)  Conduct creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to a person;

     (2)  The driver's intoxication, as set forth in § 55-10-401. For the purposes of this section, “intoxication” includes alcohol intoxication as defined by § 55-10-408, drug intoxication, or both; or

     (3)  As the proximate result of conduct constituting the offense of drag racing as prohibited by title 55, chapter 10, part 5.

(b)  (1)  Vehicular homicide under subsection (a)(1) or (a)(3) is a Class C felony.

     (2)  Vehicular homicide under subsection (a)(2) is a Class B felony.

If convicted, the sentence may range from eight to 60 years, depending upon the defendant's previous record.

*****

We've been asked if we have an update on the Underwoods' lawsuit against On the Rocks, the Court Street bar where Burns was alleged to be drinking immediately preceding the accident.  We do not.

Shoalanda

An Update on John Clark Burns Jr.'s Criminal Status

Unfortunately, we can't offer as much detailed information on John Clark Burns Jr. as we did yesterday on Jason Dewayne Green. We do have a brief update.

Burns had been scheduled to graduate from UNA this past May, but his name was not on the final list of grads. We assume this is because of his medical condition.

The Wayne County District Attorney's office has stated that Burns has not yet had any legal hearings due to his physical condition. We know that Burns was admitted to Vanderbilt Hospital after the fatal wreck that killed his girlfriend Brittany Underwood.

The DA's office has assured a member of Brittany's family that the charges are still valid and that Burns will be held legally responsible once his personal physician releases him. The dates of legal hearings will be published in the Wayne County newspaper which is not available online.

*****

On the "What's Public & What's Not" front, at the time of Burns' original hospitalization, one of his supporters declared it was unethical for his hospitalization to be made public and for us to publish that information here. Obviously details of anyone's physical condition should be off limits, but sorry, not their mere presence in the hospital. Why? This ensures no legal entities hold anyone in illegal conditions. In other words, Burns may belong in the Black Hole of Calcutta, but we may rest assured no one can send him there and the public not know it.

Similarly we are still receiving comments about the status of legal documents. All documents sent to us concerning a local sheriff candidate were final judgments. Not only are these public, initial lawsuits to recover a debt are public and have in the past been published in the TimesDaily and the Shoals Insider. Neither publishes them at this time. They are also regularly published in local credit reporting data.



Shoalanda

How Do You Know the Truth in the Shoals?

“Why wasn’t it in the TimesDaily, if it’s true?” We’ve heard and seen this question many times in the past few years. There are also some who say that while they read something in the Quad-Cities Daily or Pen-N-Sword, they won’t believe it unless it’s published in the TD. So, just why is some news published elsewhere, but not in the TD?

We’ve said before that if you want to know what cooks in Sheffield, read the QCD. The owners live in Sheffield, work in Sheffield, and know all the elected officials and half the police force. We saw some criticism of the QCD (albeit from a very disreputable source) when they broke the story of an investigation into sex charges against a Methodist minister. The TD finally reported on the case, but long after the news had been more thoroughly covered in the QCD. Why? Was the TD covering up? Our opinion is the TD didn’t have a clue for several weeks about the case.

Last week a Muscle Shoals man who had quite a rap sheet in the area was murdered in Birmingham. Pen-N-Sword published several articles on the murder, and WHNT presented a brief segment on the crime, but so far nothing has been in the TD. Didn’t the TD think it newsworthy? We’re still scratching our heads over why this didn’t make the TD. Perhaps there was no room for the story without omitting some of the myriad articles on the Shoals’ growing industries or its harsh treatment of illegal immigrants?

Some omissions aren’t so benign. When Russellville activist Evelyn Servin pickets in the area, the TD publishes what we’re sure they consider a heart wrenching account of her plight. When Servin is arrested on multiple charges in Gadsden, the TD is suddenly bereft of any comments on the poor misunderstood Mrs. Servin.

How about convicted child murderer Christie Scott? Testimony (taped) from and concerning her boyfriend took up half a day at her trial a few years ago, yet not a word on this aspect of the case was published in the TD which had a reporter in the courtroom every day.

More recently, we have the vehicular homicide case against John Clark Burns Jr. We have no idea if the TD’s failure to report the Tennessee arrest warrant for Burns was simply shoddy journalism/saving space or if the TD didn’t want to publish a story about the grandson of the founder of Brunscraft Yachts. Burns has not yet had his day in court, and his victim’s family is suing “On the Rocks” in Florence. The TD did an article on the lawsuit, but still failed to mention Burns’ criminal charges.

Tomorrow: A few more words about John Clark Burns Jr. and a clarification on a recent blog.

Shoalanda

John Clark Burns Jr. Had Previous DUI

Jane went to a new doctor; he insisted on doing some routine tests, but one of those tests had a not so routine result. Jane had suffered a heart attack some years ago that she wasn't aware of. Had she been taking her medicine regularly, the doc asked. No. But you can bet that Jane did from that day forward. It's called a wake-up call. 

Burns' mugshot from 7/7/2013 DUI arrest

Yes, when most individuals get a wake-up call, they do just that. They wake-up, smell the coffee, and change their lifestyle. A few just don't seem to get it. They have to hit rock bottom before they change their ways. A very few never change no matter how far they fall, and their lives are extremely short.

On July 7, 2013, John Clark Burns Jr. was arrested for a DUI in Florence. It's our understanding that this case has not yet come to trial due to various delays in the municipal court process. On September 9, 2013, Burns wrecked his truck into the Darby Store building in Cypress Inn, Tennessee. First responders reported Burns was intoxicated when they removed him from the vehicle. Blood tests later confirmed that, and Burns was arrested on the charge of Vehicular Homicide. He also awaits a trial/plea in that case.

In other words, 63 days after being arrested for a DUI, John Clark Burns Jr., again drove drunk and took the life of Brittany Marie Underwood. Some readers have asked why Underwood would have gotten into Burns' truck. We're guessing that Burns was so used to the effects of alcohol on his body, he managed to present a picture of one who was under control of the situation. He apparently controlled his driving that night until he reached an extremely sharp curve on a very dark road and plowed into the shed built onto the Darby store. It's a miracle that he survived the crash and subsequent fire.

Yes, he lives and will graduate from UNA with a degree in Business Administration this spring. His future will depend upon the charges he's facing in Tennessee. Do we think he's remorseful? That's not for us to decide; nor is it cause to let him shirk the consequences of his actions.



 Shoalanda

"On the Rocks" & the Dram Shop Act

 

On the Rocks is what many would call a local pub. It occupies prime property on North Court Street in a building that for many years housed the Davis Dress Shop. Look closely at the the Facebook pic of OTR and you can still see the Davis name imprinted on tiles at the entrance. OTR has lasted longer than many such establishments do in the fickle world of passe' if it happened over 24 hours ago.

Should, or perhaps more to the point, can OTR be held responsible in part for the death of Brittany Underwood? This is what the law states:

1.  the sale of alcohol was contrary to law;

2.  the sale of the alcohol was the cause of the intoxication; and

3.  the plaintiff’s injuries were proximately caused by the intoxication.

Those present on the night of the accident have stated Burns was intoxicated when he left the bar; however, one problem for William Hovater may be in proving John Clark Burns Jr. didn't consume more or most of the intoxicating alcohol after he left OTR. The telling word in interpretation of the law is "known alcoholic." Was Burns an alcoholic? Hovater's comment concerning the young man's history would seem to indicate that will be a lynchpin in the case. 

For those who think OTR employees should not be legally considered nannies, the fact remains that it's currently the law and has been for decades. Just because we don't like a law does not make us exempt from it.

Is five million dollars an outrageous amount in this case? We're guessing this amount is an estimate of the projected earnings of Underwood had she lived a normal lifespan. Alabama law also provides for punitive damages, and juries have been known to award much more than the original amount asked. Liquor liability insurance in Alabama runs about $16.00 per 1K in alcohol sales. Let's hope OTR has a good policy.

We should also note that under this law, Burns' family may also sue OTR. Stay tuned...

*****

Another take on it from our friend OB: No Winners

Shoalanda

He's Graduating/She's Still Dead

(John Clark Burns Jr.) was a regular there and we feel like employees of the business knew his history.-- William Hovater

Deep pockets. If you're not familiar with that little bit of legal slang, it means you sue the person/entity with the most money. Apparently in the case of the death of Brittany Marie Underwood, this would be the downtown Florence bar "On the Rocks." Thursday, Underwood's parents brought suit against OTR for five million. We're going to guess that John Clark Burns Jr.'s insurance company is also a prime target for a suit; however, we've not heard of one being filed as yet.

Since September, we've had several readers inquire about Burns' condition (he was also injured in the September 9th Cypress Inn, Tennessee, crash). We've learned that Burns will be graduating from UNA with a degree in business administration come this May. It's safe to infer that Burns is getting on with his life.

*****

Will Underwood's family definitely sue Burns? That we can't answer. We do know that those who contacted us after the young woman's death had nothing but praise for Burns, painted him as a victim, and accused this blog of lying about alcohol being a factor in their relative's death...and all after the State of Tennessee had already issued an arrest warrant for Burns on charges of vehicular homicide.

OTR employees may have shown extremely poor judgment in serving Burns, but it's nevertheless John Clark Burns Jr.s' decision to drink and drive that took the life of Brittany Underwood.

*****

Will the Underwood family win their lawsuit? They've demanded a jury trial; we predict they'll win. Then what of OTR? Over 20 years ago, a similar suit put a downtown Florence restaurant out of business. Let's hope OTR has some very good liability insurance.



Shoalanda

Say "Thank You" to OB & Bubba

We have been friends with O.B. for what may be considered a long time in this era of constant social flux and superficial amenities. While a close friend of ours initially pointed out how the illustration in our blog on the Cypress Inn crash could be misunderstood and a second stated it would perhaps better be replaced, because of the nature of some demands from those we've never heard of and don't wish to hear of again, we chose to let the photo remain in place.

For those who wanted it replaced, O.B. has come to your aid and made a special request. He's always had our back, and for him we are replacing the original graphic with one that has been cropped and redone.

We received the new photo this afternoon from the gentleman who made the original Photoshop type graphic. He wanted us to be sure to convey his apology if it was misunderstood. He in no way was attempting to comment on anyone's final resting place, but simply on the tragedy of the fire. He added it was not his first altercation with the PC group and would probably not be his last.

We'll also relate that this was extremely magnanimous of O.B. since he was named in some of the off-color comments. While he is a good friend, he is not connected with our blog. At this time, we have three or four who are part of our blogging group. Many others are our friends; we're sure they get into enough trouble on their on without having to take blame for what is published here.

*****

The Crash:

We do have an update on the crash itself; we're publishing this information since there seems ostensibly to be so many who have attempted to refute the police reports.

1. The arrest warrant for John Clark Burns Jr. was initiated by the Tennessee Highway Patrol--not the Wayne County Sheriff as we originally blogged. Burns is charged with vehicular homicide.

2. Partial details of the crash were published in the Wayne County News on Wednesday, September 11th. Our blog was published several hours after the WCN went on sale and we were forwarded details from several readers. Thanks to Bubba for purchasing a copy after visiting at Salem Church in Zip City this morning. He says not to tell his grandmother in the nursing home who's still a Hardshell.

3. The details of the crash itself published in the WCN are somewhat disparate from those published in the TD. According to the TD, Burns' truck was traveling north on 157 when it approached the (almost) T-zone and headed into the the old Darby Store. According to the WCN, Burns' truck was headed east when it carromed into the building.

4. The Tennessee Highway Patrol officially said only that excessive speed was involved in the crash. A LEO reported that in his work, excessive is usually defined as at least 30 miles over the limit, indicating the truck was traveling at approximately 85 miles an hour in his opinion.

Peace out...



Shoalanda

Facebook, Fatalities, & Friends

Facebook & Fatalities: The events of this week give us an opportunity to address at least one issue that no one likes to think about, but nevertheless should. We've all been teenagers and said (and done) things just to get attention. The past few years we've seen at least four young men who have lost their lives unexpectedly. We've looked at their Facebook pages and all have had entries that most adults would find objectionable. We can understand these young people never considered they would not be around to later edit or delete any remarks.

Any parent might wish to talk to his/her child about their Facebook entries. We have an idea that many kids refer to themselves as homosexual or bisexual just for the the shock effect. We also know that referring to an ex-girlfriend as a dog in heat might seem like cool revenge, but do you or your child really want that as an epitaph should the worst happen?

*****

Friends: The word friend usually has great connotations. What do your "friends" say about you? We've seen some friends this past week, and family, who haven't made a good impression on any of us here at Shoalanda.

Earlier in the week, we were sent links to two Facebook pages of individuals involved in a tragic car crash. We were also sent photos by someone who does some work for us. Until a friend contacted us we had barely heard of the accident at the Tennessee state line that look the life of Brittany Underwood. Some time after we published, we received a message from a close friend of ours who asked us to look again at the photo we used with the blog.

If we had looked at our inbox first, we might have deleted the photo at a very early date, but we didn't. By that time we had already received demands to take the photo down. Some of these demands used language not used in polite society. FYI, if you ever need a favor, you might try asking politely before you demand.

We know that when people die tragically, many who hardly knew the individuals become their best friends; however, considering the language and threats made by people claiming to be friends of Clark Burns and Brittany Underwood, it would make anyone take a second look at their character.

Most of these remarks were simply negative, yet some surprised us. One man who made a negative remark has had numerous relatives contact us regularly asking for help in prosecuting those they hold responsible for this man's nephew's death. If there were any way we could help, we would, but sadly there's not.

Others, one who claims to be a member of Miss Underwood's family, has made crude remarks about four people who don't even work with us here. Three women were called "b*****s" and one man was called an "sob." These four (or maybe five--two women have the same first name) had absolutely nothing to do with what was published here. Do you really think a cabal of local citizens got together and decided to hurt a grieving family?

Please think before you speak/write such cruel and vulgar words. Is that what your friend/relative Brittany would have done? We here don't know her and can only judge her now by your actions.



Shoalanda

Warrant Issued for Burns' Arrest/If You Missed the Thuggery...

The Wayne County, Tennessee, news has reported that the sheriff's department issued a warrant for John Clark Burns Jr.'s arrest when he leaves the hospital. While this is very sad, it should dispel rumors that Burns was not intoxicated at the time of the accident that killed Brittany Marie Underwood.

*****

Ah, if you missed the brouhaha last night, we're afraid it's no longer available. We would have preferred to keep the Shoalanda page a friend type page rather than making "her" a public figure, but since some users...oddly enough not any who were our FB friends...have protested, we are now a "page" which one must fan or like. This was not our idea, but was done entirely by FB. Most of our friends made the transfer, but if you have been omitted, it was by FB and not us. We are very sorry for any inconvenience.

*****

Now to clear up some fallacious remarks concerning yesterday's blog. All but two or three came from commenters who were not our FB friends. We have always believed everyone should have a right to comment if they wish, as long as they can abstain from cursing, etc. Sadly, many can't. Apparently many also can't read:

1. Burns isn't the man's name. Yes, John Clark's surname is Burns. No one here made that up to add any excitement or irony to the story of the fiery crash.

2. Burns wasn't drunk. According to reports now released from Wayne County, he was legally intoxicated.

3. Burns is only 25, so he shouldn't be held accountable (we don't make these up, folks). At 25, a man is old enough to smoke, drink, marry, get a tattoo, serve his country, make legally binding contracts, have finished law school, or lack only one year finishing medical school. Yes, Burns should be held accountable.

4. Burns will suffer enough since he killed the woman he loved. That's not for us to decide. The State of Tennessee has already issued an arrest warrant for Burns. What if he had killed your relative? 

5. The Darby store/homeplace was in such disrepair it's no great loss (we're cleaning that one up quite a bit). We're glad that everyone who commented on this lives in Beverly Hills, but the old store was loved by the family that built it and owned it. Just because it may not look like something of value to you, that doesn't mean it wasn't priceless to others.

6. The Darby store was auctioned off about a month ago. According to family, it most certainly wasn't.

7. Shoalanda said the store was worth more than Miss Underwood's life (That little ditty was contributed by a man who said he's leaving Tuscumbia and the Shoals because he can't find a job that's worthy of him). No, we said more knew of and loved the store than Miss Underwood. That's simply mathematical fact. The store was 89 years old and had been part of thousands of lives. Those who are grieving for the store should be allowed to.

8. The store owners shouldn't care about the building since someone lost their life in the accident. The store owners have money invested in the building, as well as great sentiment. The family member who contacted us also stated he wanted to see Burns held accountable for killing Miss Underwood. They also have every right to want Burns to repay them for their monetary loss.

9. The Burns family will sue Shoalanda for "slander." We're pretty sure the word is "libel;" however, nothing published was untrue.

That about covers the untrue comments. Yes, we did delete comments that used profanity, etc. That's always been our policy. We're won't get into the comments on the blog that threatened innocent doves, friends of the blogging group, you name it. Sadly, we're pretty sure that once Burns is arrested, these same people will be yelling, "Off with his head."



Shoalanda

Alcohol Involved in Brittany Underwood's Death

Brittany Marie Underwood & John Clark Burns Jr.

A source familiar with the investigation of the Monday morning wreck in Cypress Inn, Tennessee, has stated alcohol played a major role in the crash. Brittany Marie Underwood, 25, lost her life, and a local landmark was destroyed after John Clark Burns Jr. lost control of his truck and crashed into the decades old structure. Both the store and the truck were a total loss to the ensuing fire.

Burns, also 25, had reportedly left a downtown Florence bar shortly before the accident. He remains in Vanderbilt Hospital. His Facebook page lists his employer as Turtle Point Country Club. Sources expect charges to be filed upon his release.

*****

Let the White Ones Fly

It's dove season again. If you see a white dove, let it continue to live and fly on. These doves are used in weddings, graduations, and funerals. Their owners have a monetary interest in the fowl. Please be considerate. Thank you.



Shoalanda