- Auburn police recently announced the arrest of 38-year-old Derrill Richard "Rick" Ennis, a male suspect who has been charged in the previously-unsolved 2006 slaying of 25-year-old Lori Ann Slesinski, a young Auburn University graduate whose body has never been found. This past Monday in Montgomery County, Virginia, members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, Virginia State SWAT and Montgomery County Virginia SWAT teams arrested Ennis on outstanding grand jury indictments for capital murder during a burglary and capital murder during a kidnapping. Slesinski's family had filed a missing persons report with the Auburn police in June of 2006 when she had not communicated with them or reported to work in several days. The victim's 2005 Mazda Tribute was found on fire early the following morning, though later forensic evidence suggested that no one was in the car when the fire started. Ennis, an acquaintance of Slesinski, quickly left Auburn after being questioned by the police. Though they have yet to release information providing a motive for the slaying or the evidence linking Ennis to Slesinski's death, Auburn police, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency's Cold Case Unit and the Lee County District Attorney's Office reportedly initiated a joint effort in to the case in April 2017 that helped them determine that Slesinski was murdered by Ennis. A Lee County Grand Jury indicted him on the two capital murder charges last Thursday, August 2nd. Ennis is in custody without bond in the Montgomery County Virginia Jail while he awaits extradition to Auburn.
- Police have filed formal charges against Kenneth Wayne Watts, the Roebuck teen who allegedly carjacked a woman at gunpoint and led police on a high-speed chase through the cities of Homewood and Birmingham that eventually ended in three car crashes. The victim said the carjacking of her red Chevrolet Corvette happened around 2:55 p.m. on Oxmoor Road and St. Charles Street this past Thursday. After a lookout bulletin was issued, Homewood spotted the suspect and stolen vehicle and tried to stop him and the before the chase ensued. The suspect got on Interstate 65 North and hit the first car at the University Boulevard exit, got off at the Third Avenue North exit (where he hit a second car on 17th Street North) and then crashed into a third car on Carraway Boulevard. Watts then jumped out of the Corvette, ran into the woods and was captured by police. None of the crashes led to any of injuries. The 17-year-old Watt is charged with first-degree robbery, unlawful possession of marijuana, carrying a pistol without a permit and attempting to elude with the potential to face additional charges for the three wrecks in the Birmingham jurisdiction. His bond is set at $60,900, and according to Homewood police Sgt. John Carr, he will be charged as an adult.
- Four teenagers held a mother of two at gunpoint while they stole videos games from her Hartselle home. The armed male suspect forced the mother to the ground and the other two suspects took the games as well as a gaming system. Snapping a picture of the getaway vehicle - which also was driven by a fourth suspect - and two of the suspects, she called authorities who conducted an unsuccessful search of the area. However, a few days later, the victim and her friend saw the vehicle in a trailer park. Police came and arrested the driver, 19-year-old Jared Austin Cooper, who is being held on a $30,000 bond. Police also arrested 16-year-old Lauren Casey Stafford and are on the lookout for 17-year-old Brandon Michael Price. Stafford and Price will be tried as adults, and all three suspects are charged with first-degree burglary. The fourth suspect is being charged as a juvenile.
- An argument over cutting the grass and a property dispute led to the death of an Autauga County man on July 15th. Neighbors reported hearing a verbal altercation between 59-year-old John Brown and 73-year-old Joseph Huffman over Brown's mowing the lawn in a certain five-acre parcel of the 40-acre Pink Lilly Community. During the argument, Huffman fatally shot Brown once with a shotgun. Huffman is currently out on a $30,000 bond.
- Coosa County sheriff's deputies and a group Alabama Law Enforcement Agency narcotics officers recently conducted a raid that led to the arrest of two men and the confiscation of more than $310,000 of marijuana. After showing the warrant to resident and convicted felon Randolph Pearce, police entered the home and soon discovered an elaborate hydroponic marijuana grow operation complete with grow lights, timers, irrigation, fertilization and more. There were about 30 plants in the property's outbuilding as well as another 32 in a plant-cloning apparatus. Pearce received charges of first-degree manufacture of a controlled substance, first-degree possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia; he is at Coosa County Jail on a $30,000 bond. An accomplice, 46-year-old Anthony Wayne Grogan, attempted to flee the scene during the raid. A separate search of his residence turned up weapons and illegal drugs. Grogan was charged with possession of a controlled substance, certain persons forbidden to possess a firearm, possession of drug paraphernalia, first-degree possession of marijuana and first-degree manufacture of a controlled substance.
- A "gun-wielding" version of the viral phenomenon, the Mannequin Challenge, recently led to the arrest of two North Alabama residents. The video, which has been shared over 86,000 times since being uploaded to Facebook in early November, shows several people in front of a neighborhood house and street posing with guns. After receiving a search warrant nearly a month after the video was posted, Madison County Police seized two handguns, an assault rifle and a shotgun along with several bags of marijuana and other drug paraphernalia. As of last Tuesday, two men, aged 49 and 23, were being held in the Madison County Jail in connection with the incident. Another male, 24, was taken into custody on a first degree charge of marijuana possession, but soon posted bail.
- The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency announced the arrest of a 45-year-old Birmingham Schools employee on Friday. Charles Edward Walker Jr. faces drug trafficking charges after police seized 1,700 grams of heroin with fentanyl ($500,000 street value) and 90 grams of crack cocaine ($9,000 street value). Officers also confiscated a vehicle, a handgun and $55,000 in cash. The suspect posted bail and was released early Friday, but police report that the investigation is still ongoing.
- Most businesses use social media for marketing and sales initiatives during the holiday season. The Pants Store in Crestline take a slightly different approach, specifically using Facebook and other platforms to "shame" shoplifters caught on camera. The most recent instance occurred during the store's annual Holiday Open House on December 8th. A woman entered the store during the sale, and then proceeded to pick out a few items, try them on in the dressing room and walk out wearing a pair of $150 shoes, a pair of $160 pants and a purse full of other items. After discovering the theft, the owners posted an image from one of Pants Store's 16 security cameras and asked for help in identifying the woman. As of Friday, they had a possible ID and are working with Mountain Brook police.