Here ya go, buddy!
The Marion County Domestic Violence Task Force held a Safety
Awareness Day on Saturday, June 14. The Hamilton Fire
Department, Marion County Emergency Management Agency, and the
Marion County Sheriff ’s Department were among those present at
the event. Shown is Marion County Emergency Management Agency
Director Jimmy Mills filling a bag with safety information,
frisbees and safety awareness items. Shown in the background are
Marion County Drug Task Force Agent Damien Allen (left) with
Marion County Sheriff Kevin Williams (right).
MARION COUNTY COMMISSION
Jail suffering from
overcrowding
Daily average at 110--and
rising
By ROBYN ZILLS
Staff Writer
HAMILTON - Just as every other jail
and prison in the United States suffers from
overcrowding, so does the
Marion County Jail in Hamilton.
According to Marion County
Sheriff Kevin Williams, the daily average of
inmates at the jail is now at 110 for the month
of June and continues to rise. “The jail is made
to hold only 84 inmates at one time. We now have
154 inmates the first week in June and the
numbers per month continue to rise, ” said
Williams.
Williams discussed the problem with the Marion
County Commission during its meeting on Monday
morning, June 9.
At the meeting, Williams presented a handout
detailing the number of inmates each month
beginning in January 2008 and covering through
the first week of June. Also included is how
many prisoners are from the county, state and
all municipalities for each month.
The sheriff’s department recieves nothing to
hold state inmates at the county jail.
“In May our daily average peaked to 112. These
numbers are way over the 84 prisoners that the
jail is built to hold, ” said Williams.
“A plan needs to be considered in the future to
solve this problem. It is only getting worse. I
don ’t think these numbers really surprise
anybody.”
According to Williams, the reason for the steady
increase is the amount of civil papers and
warrants issued throughout the county has
increased.
“The state of the economy and the rising prices
are contributing factors as well. The price of
copper and other metals has risen leading to a
lot of thefts, ” said Williams.
“The increasing number of inmates also adds
tensions between employees and inmates. ”
Commissioner Kenny Jackson asked Williams if the
state is any better in dealing with the
overcrowding problem.
Williams explained that the state was
overwhelmed with prisoners and court cases when
first taking office in Jan. 2003.
The state is no longer a problem, according to
Williams, thanks to programs such as drug court
and court referral.
“We just transported seven prisoners south to
the Kilby prison (a maximum security prison in
Montgomery). Also, the drug court program is a
great program. It watches prisoners for 18
months, giving them drug tests weekly, ” said
Williams.
“After 18 months, if the defendant has
successfully completed the program, the charges
are dropped. ”
Approximately 90 percent of the inmates at the
jail are there due to drug-related charges.
Williams had several solutions to the
overcrowding problem for Marion County which
could involve a lot of work and money.
“One obvious solution is to build a new jail,
but that probably will never happen. Another
solution is to build an igloo like was done in
Franklin County, ” said Williams.
Franklin County established an igloo, which is
used at prisons to house prisoners, to help its
overcrowding problem.
According to Williams, however, the igloo could
cost approximately $60,000 to set up.
“Any solution could end up costing the county a
lot of money to produce. We are also running out
of space and land to expand the building, ” said
Williams.
The sheriff and commission agreed to start
looking into solutions for the overcrowding
problem.
“The situation is only getting worse. Whatever
solution we choose it would cost a lot of money,
but the problem is only going to get worse, ”
said Williams.
Hamilton man shot after opening fire on
four sheriff’s deputies
By TRACY
ESTES
News Editor
HAMILTON - A 52-year-old Hamilton man is
recovering in a Mississippi hospital after an exchange of
gunfire with four Marion County deputies.
Roy Campbell, 52, was shot in the right
arm after opening fire on four sheriff’s deputies who had
traveled to his home on Marion County Road 7 in the Burleson
Community on Saturday, May 31. Transported by ambulance to North
Mississippi Medical Center-Hamilton shortly after the incident,
Campbell was scheduled for surgery at the North Mississippi
Medical Center in Tupelo to repair any damage to his arm. But it was a few minutes earlier in the night that led to the
suspect’s injury. Deputies traveled to the home to serve an arrest warrant for
violation of a protection order taken out by Campbell’s former
wife. The charge is a misdemeanor. A second warrant had been issued for theft by deception in a
Winston County case. Now, the Marion County man faces four charges of attempted
murder as well as burglary, and trespassing charges. He is being
guarded by Marion County Sheriff ’s Department officials while
recovering in the Tupelo hospital. Marion County Sheriff Kevin Williams said deputies approached
the home--two at the back entrance and two at the main entrance.
Campbell asked who was outside after deputies knocked on the
front door. Immediately after deputies identified themselves, shots came
from inside the home--both through the closed front door and an
adjacent window. Campbell would later fire additional shots from the rear of the
house. Fortunately for Williams and his deputies, none of the four
officers were struck by the shots fired from a .22 pistol and a
30-30 rifle. Deputies recovered the weapons inside the home later in the
evening--both chambers were emptied. Williams did not confirm the exact number of shots fired by
Campbell. Three of the four deputies returned fire after first seeking
cover away from the home. The deputies at the front of the home
immediately raced to the squad cars sitting at the house while
the deputies near the rear of the house sought cover behind a
pickup truck already at the house. A deputy behind the house fired the shot that disabled Campbell.
Entering the home, deputies would find where Campbell had
crawled back into the house and discarded both weapons. No other injuries occurred at the scene, although Williams is
well aware more than one of his deputies could have been injured
or killed in the exchange. Also inside the home at the time of the incident was the
suspect’s current wife. She was not injured.
The house was primarily used as a hunting cabin, but Campbell
entered the home without permission by breaking and entering,
thus the burglary and trespassing charges. Asked how long deputies remained at the scene, Williams said
more than 24 hours passed from the time deputies first arrived
to serve the warrant until leaving the scene around 1 p.m. on
Sunday, June 1. Multiple law enforcement officials from the department remained
at the scene from shortly after the incident took place until 4
a.m. on Sunday. Marion County Chief Deputy Bobby Blaylock remained at the scene
until 7 a.m. when the Alabama Bureau of Investigation arrived.
Deputies and the sheriff would return shortly thereafter and
remain until 12:45 p.m. In closing, Williams said the response from other local
departments was outstanding. “We could not have done this without them,’’ Williams said.
“Anytime a call goes out of shots fired, officers from the other
departments respond. You take care of each other. ’’
Departments assisting at the scene were Marion County Drug Task
Force, Hamilton Police Department, Winfield Police Department,
Brilliant Police Department, Marion County District Attorney ’s
Office, and the Alabama Bureau of Investigation. (When a defendant is charged with a crime, the charge is merely
an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until or
unless proven guilty.)
Shown above with the 54 pounds of marijuana
confiscated from a drug bust near Bankston are deputies Phillip Taylor and Jimmy
Pendley, Fayette County Sheriff Rodney Ingle, Chief Agent Stanley Webb of the
Marion County Drug Task Force, Agent Mark Allison of the 24th Judicial DTF and
Agents Kenny Hallmark and Damian Allen of the Marion County DTF.
Drug
bust nets $55,000-$60,000
worth of marijuana; Cannon arrested
“When you can come
together and work as a team, it makes these types of arrests possible, ” said
Fayette County Sheriff Rodney Ingle, as he gave the details on a drug bust that
was made around 4 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 7 in the Bankston area.
This bust resulted in the
confiscation of more than 50 pounds of marijuana, carrying a street value
estimated at $55,000 to $60,000 dollars.
Thirty-six hours prior to
making the arrest, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office received a tip, which was
relayed to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office setting the investigation into
motion.
With the assistance of
the Marion County Drug Task Force, 24th Judicial Drug Task Force, the District
Attorney ’s Office and the Fayette Police Department, the Fayette County
Sheriff’s Office had the man power available to conduct a thorough investigation
and make the arrest of Little Joe Cannon, age 21, of 115 Springhill Drive, Apt.
1A, Berry. Cannon was charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled
substance and carrying a pistol without a permit. He is being held in the
Fayette County jail with a $60,000 bond.
Just two weeks prior, on
Aug. 22, Cannon’s father, Bobby Joe Cannon, age 40, of Berry, was arrested for
trafficking marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and criminal mischief.
The confiscated marijuana on that bust carried a street value of over $15,000.
Sheriff Ingle would like
to give a big thanks to Chief Agent Stanley Webb of the Marion County Drug Task
Force, as well as agents Damian Allen, Kenny Hallmark and Matt Pugh, and Jeff
Davis, who brought out the K-9 Unit.
Ingle also extended a
thank you to Mark Allison of the 24th Judicial DTF; Fayette City police officers
Michael Kelley, Jason Nalls, and Ronald Stough; Keith “Booty” Cox of the
District Attorney’s office; and sheriff’s deputies Phillip Taylor, Jimmy Pendley,
Jared Taylor, Chad Aldridge and Investigator Jeremy Lay for their efforts in the
investigation.
“We are going to continue
to work everyday in our county and surrounding counties to rid the area of
drugs, ” said Ingle.
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