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Why I ALWAYS carry and try to be aware of what's around me... :evil:
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/app ... 31020/1001
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/app ... 31020/1001
Montgomery police nab Millbrook slaying suspects
By Marty Roney and Kenneth Mullinax
[email protected]
[email protected]
MILLBROOK -- Elmore County's prosecutor is planning to file capital murder charges this morning against two men suspected of gunning down a father of two in front of Wal-Mart.
James Brian Martin, 23, died Wednesday night after being shot in the back of the head as he was getting into his pickup parked only six spaces from the front door of the discount store. The homicide is the second of 2007 for this community of 15,000.
Martin, who lived in Wetumpka, was carrying a bag of dog food and a package of disposable diapers he had bought for his 3-month-old daughter. He also leaves behind a 3-year-old son.
Millbrook police identified the suspects late Thursday as Calvin McMillan, 18, and Rondarrell Terrell Williams, 28, both of Montgomery. McMillan is the suspected gunman.
The suspects apparently wanted Martin's burgundy Ford F-150 pickup, said Randall Houston, district attorney for Autauga, Elmore and Chilton counties.
"This was a cold-blooded, heartless act," Houston said. "He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. We feel he was picked completely at random. He was coming home from a (Biscuits) baseball game, and he called his wife to tell her he was stopping by Wal-Mart to get some diapers and dog food."
Houston believes the men watched Martin go into the store, then ambushed him when he came out. Surveillance cameras in the parking lot recorded the crime.
"When I saw the videotape, it made my hair stand on end," said police Chief Kenneth Bradley. "He was walking to his truck and they just came up to him shooting. He was shot several times. It doesn't appear they spoke to him, they just shot him."
One of the men drove off in the pickup, which Montgomery officers spotted Thursday morning on East South Boulevard.
Officers took the suspects into custody after a four-hour manhunt near Montgomery Mall.
The pickup went into the Bridge Kroft Apartments on Moorcroft Drive, where the driver jumped out and fled on foot. Helicopters, bloodhounds, patrol officers and SWAT team members combed several blocks surrounding the complex, where Williams lives.
John Easley witnessed the chase.
"He got out of that truck and took off running like a rabbit," Easley said at the scene. "This whole thing looked serious as a heart attack from the get-go because every one of the police had guns drawn and ready. They had him dead-on but he was fast as lightning when he ran and got away."
SWAT team members conducted house-to-house "welfare" searches to make sure the suspects hadn't kidnapped anyone and weren't hiding out in a residence.
"Since the suspect managed to disappear so quickly, it left the possibility that he could have broken into a residence, so we are conducting these searches to make sure no one was in danger," said Lt. Keith Barnett said.
Wal-Mart offered condolences to the Martin family through spokeswoman Sharon Weber.
The slaying has company officials looking at security measures at the store, open only about three months.
"Our first priority is the safety and security of our customers and associates," Weber said. "It's a sad fact, but bad things can happen in public places."
Bright orange paint marked the crime scene. The blazing color stood out against the new asphalt.
Belle Simmons, 56, asked what the paint was for as she was going into the store Thursday morning.
"Oh Lord, how can this happen here in Millbrook?" she asked, shifting her 18-month-old grandson, Ty, from one hip to another. "I just don't know what to say. This is Millbrook."
