Bibb County jury convicts in 2010 workplace shooting

CENTREVILLE, Alabama - A Bibb County jury today convicted a man in last year's deadly workplace shooting in Centreville.
The jury deliberated only about 30 minutes before convicting 47-year-old Israel Cid, a New York native. He was convicted in the death of Thomas Duane Banks, 50, of Northport, said Jim Ransom, assistant Bibb County district attorney.
The shooting happened in October 2010 at the Bibb County Board of Education building, which was under construction at the time. Both Cid and Banks were electricians working on the job.
Witnesses in the trial, which began Monday, said a dispute between the two arose over the theft of copper which led to Cid being fired.
Ransom said Cid went to his car, retrieved a .38-caliber pistol and shot Banks once in the head. He was taken into custody at the scene.
Ransom, who prosecuted the case, said he was pleased with swift justice. "Everyone involved in the apprehension of Cid, and in the investigation of the shooting, did a great job," he said.
Cid will be sentenced later this year.

It's alive! Space station's humanoid robot awakes!

         In this March 15, 2011 file photo provided by NASA, astronaut Scott Kelly, Expedition 26 commander, right, poses with Robonaut 2, the dexterous humanoid astronaut helper, in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station. NASA ground controllers on Monday turned on the robot for the first time since it was delivered to the International Space Station in February. (AP Photo/NASA)
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's humanoid robot has finally awakened in space.
Ground controllers turned Robonaut on Monday for the first time since it was delivered to the International Space Station in February. The test involved sending power to all of Robonaut's systems. The robot was not commanded to move; that will happen next week.
"Those electrons feel GOOD! One small step for man, one giant leap for tinman kind," Robonaut posted in a Twitter update. (All right, so a Robonaut team member actually posted Monday's tweets under AstroRobonaut.)
The four visible light cameras that serve as Robonaut's eyes turned on in the gold-colored head, as did the infrared camera, located in the robot's mouth and needed for depth perception. One of Robonaut's tweets showed the view inside the American lab, Destiny.
"Sure wish I could move my head and look around," Robonaut said in the tweet.
Robonaut -- the first humanoid robot in space -- is being tested as a possible astronaut's helper.
The robot's handlers at Mission Control in Houston cheered as everything came alive.
The main computers -- buried inside Robonaut's stomach -- kicked on, as did the more than 30 processors embedded in the arms for controlling the joints.
"Robonaut behaved himself," said deputy project manager Nicolaus Radford. "Oh, Robonaut definitely got an 'A.' He won't be held back a grade, if that's what you want to know."
"It was just very exciting," he said. "It's been a long time coming to get this thing turned on."
The robot was delivered on space shuttle Discovery's final flight. It took this long for the operating software to get up there, and for the astronauts to have enough time to help with the experiment.
On Sept. 1, controllers will command Robonaut to move its fingers, hands and arms.
"It's been asleep for about a year, so it kind of has to stretch out a little bit," Radford told The Associated Press. "Just like a crew member has to kind of acclimate themselves to zerogravity, our robot has to do a very similar thing, kind of wiggle itself and learn how it needs to move" in weightlessness.
For now, Robonaut exists from the waist up. It measures 3 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 330 pounds. Each arm is 2 feet 8 inches long.
A pair of legs are being designed and should be launched in 2013.
Radford said if everything continues to check out well, the robot may be able to take on a few mundane chores -- like taking air velocity measurements inside the space station -- early next year.
For now, Robonaut -- also called R2 -- is designed to stay inside the space station. Future versions might venture out on spacewalks, saving astronauts time while keeping them safe.
During Monday's two-hour test, U.S. astronaut Michael Fossum and Japanese spaceman Satoshi Furukawa took Robonaut from its sleeping bag, placed it on its fixed pedestal, then floated away as ground controllers took over. The robot went back into its bag following the test.
Because Robonaut has some flammable parts, NASA wants it stored in its fireproof bag.
Controllers were tempted to make the robot move, but held off.
"We want to be respectful," Radford said. "It's a very complicated piece of hardware."

Judge orders accounting in Ala. contamination suit

By Associated Press

ANNISTON, Al. — Calhoun County Circuit Judge Debra Jones has issued an order requiring a public accounting of the settlement in a chemical contamination lawsuit.
The Anniston Star reports the order issued Monday also requires an audit of the settlement and a hearing on the reasonableness of the attorney fees.
The Abernathy-Monsanto case, a filed against Monsanto in 1996 alleging that its production of polychlorinated biphenyls polluted the properties near its plant and contaminated the residents, was one of two such cases filed. They were settled jointly in 2003.
Court documents show the settlement awarded $300 million with $275 million to be split immediately. The settlement was questioned, and the court order is a result of the April 27, 2011, hearing presided over by Jones.

Woman sues over son's death at Partlow center

By Associated Press

TUSCALOOSA, Al- A woman is suing the state over her son's death at a mental health center in Tuscaloosa.
Barbara Prescott filed suit Tuesday claiming 49-year-old Anthony Roy Prescott choked to death after being left unsupervised last year at the Partlow Developmental Center.
The suit says the man was severely mentally disabled and had a history of binge eating that meant he required constant supervision. The suit says he choked to death after going into a closet and eating cheese crackers. He died at a hospital the next day, on Nov. 1, 2010.
A lawyer for the family, Tommy James, says patients are left alone without proper supervision too often in the state's mental health system.
The Alabama Department of Mental Health didn't have any immediate response to the lawsuit.

Al. Reserve unit planes diverted because of Irene

By Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala.  A deployment to provide airlift support in Central and South America got off to a soggy start for an Air Force Reserve unit from Montgomery when the unit arrived in Puerto Rico over the weekend, just before Hurricane Irene hit the island.
About 50 members of the 908th Airlift Wing and two C-130 cargo planes left Montgomery Saturday to participate in an ongoing mission to provide airlift support to U.S. embassies and other government agencies in central and south America.
Because of Irene, the cargo planes were diverted to MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa until the storm had passed Puerto Rico. Public Affairs Officer Lt. Col. Jerry Lobb said unit members are still dealing with power outages in Puerto Rico, but otherwise the mission is going ahead as planned.

Illegal immigrant sues Alabama over legal defense

By Associated Press
MONTGOMERY, Ala. An illegal immigrant who pleaded guilty to murder is suing Alabama officials, claiming the defense he got at taxpayer expense was inadequate.
Cenobio Sanchez says Houston County's system of contract defense attorneys doesn't provide adequate legal representation for people who are too poor to hire a lawyer. His suit seeks to become a class-action case.
One of the defendants, Houston County Commission Chairman Mark Culver, says there's something wrong when a person who's in the country illegally can file such a suit.
The court-appointed attorney who represented Sanchez, Valerie Judah, says he wanted to plead guilty because he thought the judge would send him back to Mexico. Instead, he got a 40-year sentence for murder and five years for having a fake Social Security card and work permit.

Hurricane Irene is pounding the north coast of the Dominican Republic this morning with tropical storm-force winds and torrential rains

Hurricane Irene is pounding the north coast of the Dominican Republic this morning with tropical storm-force winds and torrential rains, as the storm continues to head west-northwest towards the Bahama Islands. Puerto Plata on the north coast of the Dominican Republic reported sustained winds of 58 mph at 5am local time this morning, with heavy rain. In the Turks and Caicos Islands ahead of Irene, winds have gusted to 42 - 49 mph this morning on Providenciales at personal weather stations at the Regent Grand and at Pine Cay. The latest hurricane hunter eye report at 10:38am EDT found a central pressure of 980 mb, and top surface winds of 85 mph using their SFMR instrument. The plane had not finished sampling the storm yet.

Yesterday, Irene hit Puerto Rico as a tropical storm with 70 mph winds, reaching hurricane strength as it emerged into the Atlantic northwest of the capital of San Juan. No deaths or major injuries have been reported thus far from the islands, though the storm knocked out power to 1 million residents of Puerto Rico, including the entire island Vieques; 28% of Puerto Rico had no running water Monday afternoon. Billionaire Richard Branson's 8-bedroom mansion on private Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands was hit by lightning during the storm and burned down, and Branson relates on his blog how actress Kate Winslett had to carry out his 90-year-old mother from the main house to safety. Haiti has thus far escaped heavy rains from Irene, though the main danger comes today as the storm makes its closest approach to Haiti.


Figure 1. Morning satellite image of Irene, showing a hint of an eye starting to pop out.

Track forecast for Irene
Yesterday's dropsonde mission by the NOAA jet helped significantly narrow the uncertainty in the 1 - 3 day forecasts from the computer models. Irene will track through the Turks and Caicos islands today, the central Bahamas on Wednesday, and northwestern Bahamas on Thursday. However, the models still diverge considerably on their 4 - 5 days forecasts. One reliable model, the UKMET, takes Irene into South Carolina, while several others have the hurricane missing the Southeast U.S. completely, passing just offshore of the Outer Banks of North Carolina on Saturday. The official NHC forecast of a landfall along the North Carolina coast is a reasonable compromise, though with the models trending more eastwards of late, I would favor a landfall farther east than NHC is predicting. Irene will continue north or curve northeast after its encounter with North Carolina, and the hurricane could be a dangerous and destructive storm for the entire mid-Atlantic and New England coast.

A research project funded by NOAA known as the Joint Hurricane Testbed has produced a remarkable number of tools now in operational use at the National Hurricane Center to improve hurricane forecasts and warnings. One of these projects, called "Prediction of Consensus TC Track Forecast Error and Correctors to Improve Consensus TC Track Forecasts", was an effort by Dr. Jim Goerss at the Navy Research Lab to improve the accuracy of the NHC "cone of uncertainty" (AKA the "Cone of Death") showing where a storm is expected to track 2/3 of the time. The radius of the circles that make up the cone are based on error statistics of the official NHC forecast over the past five years. We can expect in certain situations, such as when the models are in substantial disagreement, a consensus forecast made using these models will have much greater than average errors. Since the NHC typically bases their forecast on a consensus forecast made using a combination of reliable hurricane forecasting models, it is instructive to view the "GPCE" (Goerss Prediction Consensus Error) circles to see if the uncertainty cone should be smaller or larger than usual. The consensus forecast I'll look at is called "TVCN", and is constructed by averaging the track forecasts made by most of (or all) of these models: GFS, ECMWF, NOGAPS, GFDL, HWRF, GFDN, and UKMET. In the case of this morning's 12 UTC (8am EDT) runs of these models, here is what the radius of the "cone of uncertainty" should be, in nautical miles:

12 hours: 27 nm
24 hours: 44 nm
36 hours: 64 nm
48 hours: 81 nm
72 hours: 137 nm
96 hours: 201 nm
120 hours: 308 nm

And here is the radius of NHC's "cone of uncertainty" for their official forecast, based on the average errors for the past five years:

12 hours: 36 nm
24 hours: 59 nm
36 hours: 79 nm
48 hours: 98 nm
72 hours: 144 nm
96 hours: 190 nm
120 hours: 239 nm

So, the GPCE error estimates are showing that the latest forecasts for Irene are better than average over the 1 - 3 day time period, and worse than average for 4 - 5 days. Note the error estimate of 308 nm (355 miles) for today's 5-day forecast. That's more than the distance from New York City to Boston, suggesting that we really don't know what portions of New England might be at most risk from Irene. It is still quite possible the core of the hurricane could miss New England.

Intensity forecast for Irene
Latest microwave data suggests that Irene does not have full eyewall; a gap exists in the southwest side. With wind shear now a moderate 10 - 20 knots, Irene may have trouble intensifying today. The hurricane is embedded in a large envelope of moisture, and wind shear is expected to remain moderate, 10 - 20 knots, for the next four days. With water temperatures very warm, 29 - 30°C, these conditions should allow for intensification to a Category 3 storm sometime in the next two days. Satellite loops show that Irene is steadily growing in size, which will protect the storm against major disruption by wind shear. The storm is lacking much development on its southwest side, where the presence of Hispaniola is interfering with development. Once Irene pulls away from Hispaniola tonight, intensification is more likely.

Irene's impact on the Turks and Caicos Islands
Heavy rains from Irene have already reached the Turks and Caicos Islands, which form the southeastern portion of the Bahama Islands chain. The last hurricane to affect the Turks and Caicos islands was Hurricane Ike of 2008. Ike's northern eyewall devastated Grand Turk, Salt Cay, South Caicos, and a few other smaller cays when the storm was at Category 4 strength. Ike then weakened slightly to a Category 3 storm with 125 mph winds before making a direct hit on Great Inagua Island. Approximately 70-80% of the houses on Great Inagua Island sustained roof damage, and 25% had major damage or were destroyed. The Morton Salt factory on the island was forced to halt operations as Ike damaged its offices and loading docks. A few West Indian flamingos were killed by Ike but most of the 50,000 flamingos in Inagua National Park--the world's largest colony--survived by taking shelter within the park's mangroves or flying to other islands. Risk Management Solutions estimates that total damage costs are between $50 and $200 million (USD) for the Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas. Irene will be weaker than Ike, so will not do as much damage. The main threat from Irene will be wind damage.


Figure 2. The path of Hurricane Ike of 2008 took it through the Turks and Caicos Islands as a Category 4 hurricane with 135 mph winds (pink colors).

Irene's impact on the Bahama Islands
Irene will pass through the length of the Bahama Island chain and cause widespread destruction on those islands unfortunate enough to encounter the storm's right front eyewall. Currently, it appears that Crooked, Cat, Exuma, Eleuthera, and Abaco Islands are all in danger of experiencing the eyewall of Irene, which will be capable of bringing storm surges of 9 - 13 feet. The current forecast puts the Bahamas' two most developed islands--New Providence and Grand Bahama--on the weaker west side of Irene, where Category 1 hurricane winds are likely. These winds will likely cause considerable but not devastating damage. Irene will come very close to the capital city of Nassau on New Providence Island on Thursday morning, home to 70% of the population of the Bahamas. Nassau has received direct hits from three major hurricanes since 1851--the Category 4 Nassau Hurricane of 1926, which killed 287 people, a Category 4 hurricane in 1866 that killed 387 people, and a Category 3 hurricane in August 1949. The island is vulnerable to high storm surges--a ten-foot storm surge is theoretically possible on the south shore of Nassau in a Category 3 hurricane. However, the south shore of the island is relatively undeveloped, and the city of Nassau and Paradise Island are mostly higher than ten feet in elevation. A much higher storm surge of 20 feet is possible along the southwest shore of Exuma Island, but again, this shore is not heavily developed.


Figure 3. The height above ground that a mid-strength Category 3 hurricane with 120 - 125 mph winds would push a storm surge in a worst-case scenario. The image was generated using the primary computer model used by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) to forecast storm surge--the Sea, Lake, and Overland Surge from Hurricanes (SLOSH) model. The accuracy of the SLOSH model is advertised as plus or minus 20%. This "Maximum Water Depth" image shows the water depth at each grid cell of the SLOSH domain. Thus, if you are inland at an elevation of ten feet above mean sea level, and the combined storm surge and tide (the "storm tide") is fifteen feet at your location, the water depth image will show five feet of inundation. This Maximum of the "Maximum Envelope of Waters" (MOM) image was generated for high tide and is a composite of the maximum storm surge found for dozens of individual runs of different Category 3 storms with different tracks. Thus, no single storm will be able to cause the level of flooding depicted in this SLOSH storm surge image.

Irene a potential multi-billion dollar disaster for New England and the mid-Atlantic
Though it is still possible the core of Irene will miss the U.S., the current NHC official forecast would mean that Irene would bring destructive flash flooding, significant beach damage, and widespread power outages due to tree damage along the entire U.S. coast from North Carolina to Maine, costing several billion dollars. If Irene ends up skirting the Outer Banks of North Carolina and not significantly weakening, then plowing through the mid-Atlantic and New England states as a Category 1 or 2 hurricane, it could become one of the ten most damaging hurricanes in history. The latest 06Z (2am EDT) run of the GFS model puts Irene ashore in Southeast Massachusetts on Sunday afternoon as a large storm with a central pressure of 974 mb. The latest run of the ECMWF model has Irene with a central pressure of 964 mb over Chesapeake Bay, and 972 mb over New Jersey. These central pressures correspond to strong tropical storm or Category 1 hurricane strengths, and are similar to what Hurricane Floyd or 1999 had when it moved up the mid-Atlantic coast after hitting North Carolina as a Category 2 hurricane. Floyd was the 14th most damaging hurricane in history, with total damages estimated at $9.2 billion (2010 dollars.) Most of the damage was in North Carolina, which experienced its worst flooding on record. If the GFS and ECMWF models are correct, Irene could easily be a $10 billion hurricane, causing widespread damage along a long section of heavily populated coast. The most damaging Northeast U.S. hurricane of all time was Hurricane Agnes of 1972, with damages estimated at $11.8 billion (2010 dollars.) Currently, it appears that Irene will hit North Carolina on Saturday, and New England on Sunday. I strongly urge all residents of the coast from North Carolina to Massachusetts to assess their hurricane preparedness immediately, and anticipate the possibility of hurricane conditions this weekend.

Links
For those of you wanting to know your odds of receiving hurricane force or tropical storm force winds, I recommend the NHC wind probability product.

Wunderground has detailed storm surge maps for the U.S. coast.

Elsewhere in the tropics
There are two tropical waves far out in the eastern Atlantic, Invest 90L and Invest 98L, that NHC is giving 20% chances of developing into tropical depressions by Thursday. At present, the long-range models are showing that both of these disturbances will not be a threat to any land areas over the next seven days, and will probably move too far north to ever be a threat to land.

Texas/Oklahoma heat wave sets all-time 100° records
The unprecedented heat wave gripping Texas and Oklahoma set several new all-time heat records yesterday. The high temperature hit 101° at the Houston Intercontinental Airport yesterday, the 22nd consecutive day of 100°+ heat and 33rd day of 100°+ heat in the city. Both are all-time records for the city. Oklahoma City recorded its 51st day of 100°+ temperatures yesterday, breaking the record for most such days in year, set previously in 1980. Temperature records for Oklahoma City date back to 1891.

Jeff Masters

Hurricane Irene (LRandyB)

Ragged eye of Irene

Tragic (rlwhipkey)

This is the scene around Lake Sam Rayburn. Dead fish every 20 yards or so and dead fresh water clams everywhere. The lake is 11 feet low and is losing about an inch a day.

OZARK POLICE DEPARTMENT DAILY CRIME BULLETIN – who was bad on Aug 22

AUGUST 22, 2011 –MONDAY:
@ 5:31 am.Domestic Violence 3rd. Lake Ave. Victim (Kim D. Brown) stated suspect/ex-husband (Charles E. Brown) came to her residence and threatened to “Blow her brains out”. 

@ 9:54 am. Theft of Property 3rd. Andrews Avenue. Complainant (Marsha Smolen, Dollar General) stated suspects (Anthony T. Beecham) and (Mary L. Caldwell) were placing items in a brown purse and left the store without paying. Suspects were caught next door in Grocery Outlet taking the items out of the purse and putting them in plastic bags
. 
@ 12:32 pm. Harassing Communications. Joseph Dr. Victim (Megan E. Defilippo) stated an unknown suspect sent a message to her cell phone containing a picture of male genitals. 

@ 3:41 pm. Domestic Dispute. S. County Rd 20. (Tara T. Courtney) and (Joseph R. Cummings) were arguing over personal matters. 

@ 4:15 am. Harassment. Willa Street. Victim (Albert L. Floyd) stated an unknown suspect through a plastic bottle out of a school bus window and hit him in the neck. 

@ 5:22 pm. Criminal Trespass 3rd. Co. Rd. 223. Victim (Robert H. Logan) stated suspect (Daniel R. Donaldson) was parking illegally on victim’s property.
 
@  9:12 pm. Possession of a Controlled Substance/Possession of Marijuana 2nd. US 231 & Bridlewood Dr. Suspect (Daniel D. Weary) was stopped for a city ordinance violation. As officer approached the vehicle, the odor of marijuana was present. Both driver and passenger were asked where the marijuana was located. Upon further investigation, officers found a small amount of crack cocaine. 

@ 10:51 pm. Assault 3rd/Criminal Mischief 3rd. King Ave. Victim (Keaire G. Reese) stated suspect (Stacy D. Green) and his friends came to the residence. The suspect ran into the house and began hitting the victim with a closed fist. 
ARRESTS:

Anthony Terrell Beecham – Theft of Property 3
rd. 95 Andrew Willow Rd, Clio. 40 YOA.
Mary Louise Caldwell – Theft of Property 3
rd. 2263 Main St, Louisville. 48 YOA.
William Johnson, Jr. – Domestic Violence 3
rd/Probation Violation. 406 Don Circle. 38 YOA.
Diana Shanta Reynolds – Harassment. 140 Belcher Avenue. 29 YOA.
Pierre Artaicous Bell Thomas – Disorderly Conduct. 95 Wilson Lane, Millerville. 23 YOA.
Daniel Darnell Weary – Possession of a Controlled Substance/Possession of Marijuana 2
nd.  4607 AL Hwy 93, Banks. 19 YOA

3 killed in air show & one officer shot

DETROIT — A Michigan wing walker who fell to his death as he tried to grab a helicopter's skid from his perch atop a small plane had successfully performed the same maneuver many times before, a former colleague said Monday.
Todd Green, the son of a prominent aerial stuntman and a skilled one himself, was 1 of only 2 people to ever do the stunt, said Kyle Franklin, a stunt pilot and former wing walker who once worked with him.
"He was very good at it. I've seen him do that many, many times," Franklin said. "He was always on spot and did a very good job with everything he did."
Green, who died Sunday after falling 200 feet from the plane during an annual air show at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, successfully completed the stunt the day before, said Technical Sgt. Dan Heaton, a base spokesman

                   View the article and video footage caught on tape

Scam Calls Claiming to be City of Dothan Utilities Division asking for credit card info.

The Dothan Police Department recently received a call from the City of Dothan Utilities Division. Employees of utilities advised they have had several recent reports from customers, primarily business accounts, who say they have received a call from someone claiming to be with Dothan Utilities demanding a credit card number for payment.

The callers’ voice is described as an American, female, calling from a blocked phone number. The Dothan Police Department would like to confirm this is a scam and fortunately, everyone contacted thus far has refused to give such information. Calls requesting credit card information are not placed by the Utilities Division and anyone receiving this or similar calls should not share any information and disconnect immediately.

Irene has strengthened into a hurricane overnight while passing along the north coast of Puerto Rico

Irene has strengthened into a hurricane overnight while passing along

the north coast of Puerto Rico. As of 7 am ET this morning, Irene had

maximum sustained winds of 75 mph. Irene was moving to the west

northwest around 14 mph. On this motion, Irene is expected to move along

the north coast of Hispaniola over the next 36 hours.

 

After 36 hours, the forecast becomes increasingly complex. A trough of

low pressure across the Upper Mississippi River Valley is predicted to

swing through the Great Lakes weakening the large ridge of high pressure

currently located to the north of Irene. As the ridge weakens, Irene

will begin moving more northwestward and eventually turn more to the

north. Depending on how quickly this ridge weakens, will determine

whether Irene poses a threat to Florida or areas further up the

Southeast U.S. Coast.

 

One consequence of the current track is that Irene is now expected to

have much less land interaction with the mountainous terrain of

Hispaniola. As a result, Irene could strengthen into a strong hurricane

while moving near the Central and Western Bahamas.

 

Many of the computer models prefer an eventual track with Irene along or

just east of the Florida East Coast, placing our region on the weaker,

west side of the tropical system, thereby limiting the overall impact

for our eastern areas. However, a couple of other computer models still

indicate the possibility of Irene moving into the far Eastern Gulf of

Mexico. Given the uncertainty at longer ranges of the forecast, much of

the NWS Tallahassee Forecast Area remains inside the cone of uncertainty.

 

The National Weather Service in Tallahassee will continue to monitor the

progress of Irene closely today. Another update will likely be sent out

later today from our office to include the latest track information

provided by the National Hurricane Center and any potential impacts to

our region. As always, if you have any questions, please give our office

a call and ask to speak to one of our meteorologists... 850-942-8833.

 

Dothan Police Department made a felony arrest following the assault of an on duty officer.

On August 20, 2011 the Dothan Police Department made a felony arrest following the assault of an on duty officer. The call began as a car crash investigation in the 1200 block of South Park Avenue. Upon arrival, a night shift patrolman located an intoxicated male who according to witnesses had been inside one of the vehicles. The officer approached him to question him and determine if he had been a driver or passenger. The suspect immediately became combative and while resisting arrest, punched the officer in the face. The officer suffered two lacerations; the suspect was arrested and transported to the Dothan City Jail. The crash investigation is still ongoing and further charges may be pending.

·        Reynaldo Molina Ponce, Hispanic male, 29 years of age, of Sioux Street was arrested and charged with Second Degree Assault, Harassment to a Public Safety Officer, Resisting Arrest and Public Intoxication with a bonds totaling $ 101,300.

Headland Man arrested and charged with First Degree Kidnapping, First Degree Rape, Sexual Torture and First Degree Burglary

On August 20, 2011 the Dothan Police Department made an arrest on a multiple felony investigation which included charges of burglary, kidnapping, sexual torture and rape. Police say the investigation began following a 911 call received by the victim who made a bold escape from her captor, likely saving her life. The investigation revealed the suspect forced entry into the downtown home of the victim, an ex-girlfriend, on August 19, 2011. Due to the sensitive nature of this case, limited details are being released however police say the victim was bound and held captive for nearly twenty-one hours. Following the report, patrolmen began a massive man hunt for the suspect which ended a few hours later when the man was taken into custody.

·        Kenneth Earl Morris, black male, 46 years of age, of Headland, Alabama was arrested and charged with First Degree Kidnapping, First Degree Rape, Sexual Torture and First Degree Burglary and is being held with no bond.

UPDATE: Dothan Police Department responded to an armed robbery at Taco Bell, 1087 Ross Clark Circle

 UPDATE: Aug 24,2011


Dothan Police has submitted a security camera video of the armed robbery 
                              
 CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE VIDEO

On August 21, 2011 the Dothan Police Department responded to an armed robbery at Taco Bell, 1087 Ross Clark Circle at 8:55p.m. Upon arrival, police learned a black male wearing black clothing and a black ski mask entered the store with a hand gun and demanded money. The suspect was given U.S. Currency after which he fled, running from the rear of the business.

Police are asking anyone with information about the case or identity of the suspect to call the Dothan Police Department or CrimeStoppers 334-793-7000.

Investigators are working to obtain video of the robbery but say it may be tomorrow before it is fully downloaded. We will post an update when the surveillance is ready.

Tropical Storm Irene a U.S. Landfall Threat

Tropical Storm Irene roared into life last night, transitioning from a tropical wave to a 50 mph tropical storm in just a few short hours. Irene is getting organized quickly, and has the potential to become a hurricane by Monday morning. All interests in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, the Bahamas, and South Florida should prepare for the arrival of this dangerous storm. An Air Force hurricane hunter aircraft in the storm found the strongest winds near 18°N latitude to the north of Irene's center at 8am this morning. After passing through the center, the plane returned to the area of strongest winds two hours later, and found that flight level winds at 5,000 feet had increased by about 5 - 8 mph. However, the pressure in the latest center fix taken at 10am EDT remained the same as two hours previously, 1007 mb, and the plane noted that Irene's center was not circular, signs that the storm still has some work to do before serious intensification can begin. Visible satellite loops and radar out of Martinique show the storm has rapidly organized this morning, with well-developed spiral bands forming and a large area of intense thunderstorms to the north of the center. Irene has shrugged off the dry air that was bothering it yesterday, and wind shear has fallen to the low range, 5 - 10 knots, as analyzed by the University of Wisconsin CIMSS group. Torrential rains and strong gusty winds are affecting the northern Lesser Antilles this morning. A wind gust of 41 mph was recorded at St. Eustatius at 8am local time.


Figure 1. Morning satellite image of Irene.

Track forecast for Irene
The computer models are in agreement that Irene will pass just south of Puerto Rico tonight, then hit the south coast of Hispaniola in the Dominican Republic or Haiti on Monday afternoon. Irene should then emerge into the channel between Haiti and Cuba on Tuesday afternoon, when the storm will have 12 or so hours over water before having to contend with Cuba. A trough of low pressure is expected to move across the Eastern U.S. on Wednesday and Thursday, turning Irene to the northwest and north by Thursday. The timing and strength of this trough varies considerably from model to model, and will be critical in determining where and when Irene will turn to the north. Irene's strength will also matter--a stronger Irene is more likely to turn northward earlier. The most likely path for Irene is a track just east of the Florida Peninsula and into Georgia, South Carolina, or North Carolina by next weekend, but a landfall near Miami then directly up the Florida Peninsula is also a reasonable solution--like Tropical Storm Fay of 2008 did. Fay formed just off the coast of Puerto Rico, and was never quite able to get organized enough to become a hurricane, due to passage over Hispaniola and Cuba. Fay topped out as a strong tropical storm with 70 mph winds, and did over $500 million in damage in the U.S., mostly due to flooding rains in Florida that accumulated to over 25 inches in a few areas. Fay also dumped heavy rains on Hispaniola, triggering flooding that claimed eight lives.


Figure 2. Track of Tropical Storm Fay of 2008.

Intensity forecast for Irene
Irene is embedded in a large envelope of moisture now, and wind shear will remain low, 5 - 10 knots, for the next five days. With water temperatures very warm, 28 - 30°C, these conditions should allow for intensification except when land is interfering. Irene's current appearance on satellite loops gives me the impression of a storm that is not fooling around, and I expect Irene will be a hurricane before hitting Hispaniola on Monday. Passage over Hispaniola will not destroy Irene, since it is a fairly large storm. Once the storm finishes with Hispaniola, it will have to deal with Cuba, which will keep Irene from intensifying significantly. Once Irene pops off the coast of Cuba Wednesday or Thursday into the Florida Straits, Irene will likely be a tropical storm. If the storm then has at least a day over water before hitting land, it will likely become a hurricane again, and could become a major hurricane if it ends up missing South Florida and moving over the warm waters on either side of the Florida Peninsula.

Harvey hits Belize
Tropical Storm Harvey made landfall at 2pm EDT on Saturday near Dangriga Town, Belize, as a tropical storm with 60 mph winds. Harvey continues to dump very heavy rains on southern Mexico, but dissipation is expected tonight as the storm pushes inland. Harvey was a small storm, and the strongest winds were confined to a short stretch of coast near where the center came ashore. Winds at Belize City, Belize on Saturday topped out at 15 mph.


Figure 3. Radar image of Harvey taken at 11:30am EDT on Saturday, August 20, 2011, a few hours before landfall in Belize. A small closed eye is visible just south of the offshore islands of Belize. Image credit: Belize National Meteorological Service.

Invest 98L northwest of the Cape Verde Islands
A tropical wave few hundred miles northwest of the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of Africa, Invest 98L, has become disorganized and lost most of its heavy thunderstorms. The disturbance is moving over colder waters and encountering drier air, and NHC is giving 98L only a 10% chance of developing into a tropical depression by Tuesday. The latest set of model runs keep 98L well out to sea away from any land areas over the next five days.

Home Invasion with shooting death in Dale County

Submitted by viewer
Reports state around 4AM Curtis Patrick Of Webb Al was intoxicated and went into a home of a person who supposed to owed him money, Patrick was being very disorderly and loud when he entered the home , but the problem was he entered the wrong home, where the home owner Michael Alan Crawford shot and killed Patrick who was reported dead when Dale County Sheriff and Dale County Coroners office arrived.