crime

On Saturday, July 27, at approximately 9:10 p.m. Tuscaloosa Police responded to reports of a shooting in the parking lot of Embassy Suites in downtown Tuscaloosa located on 2410 University Blvd. According to Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Violent Crimes Unit (VCU) Captain Jack Kennedy, one male was found deceased at the scene. The victim was identified as Howell Booth Holland III, 21, of Fayette.

On Saturday, June 29, Michael Wade Tucker was taken into custody and subsequently charged with the murder of 21-year-old Laci Whitson, according to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office. Reports show that Tucker was the last known person to be with Whitson who was reported missing by her family earlier this week.

On Saturday, June 29, around 1:18 a.m., Berry Police were alerted to a possible break in at Berry Discount Apothecary.  According to Berry Police Officer Randall Kelley, surveillance cameras began recording the incident when the suspects broke out the windows of the establishment. 

On Monday, April 1, The Fayette Police Department received reports of an attempted robbery at Check Into Cash located in Fayette. Authorities say a white male entered the business and took an undisclosed amount of money. The suspects of the incident were later identified as William Malachi Fields, 19, of Tuscaloosa Ala., and Brandon Russell Watson, 41.

On Thursday, April 4, authorities received reports of a single vehicle crash on Hwy. 43 at the Trading Post. Fayette County Sheriff Byron Yerby reported that an Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) employee stopped to assist at the scene. However, the person involved in the accident seized the ALDOT vehicle and fled down Hwy. 43 toward Berry.

On Monday around 9 a.m., Fayette County High School received an email of a bomb threat, according to Fayette County Sheriff Byron Yerby. The school immediately alerted authorities and everyone was safely evacuated from the area. Other Fayette County Schools were placed on a soft lockdown as a safety protocol. After a thorough search, the campus was cleared around noon. Yerby says that nothing was found during the search and the incident is under investigation. Fayette County High School resumed its normal operations on Tuesday, April 9th.

On Monday, April 1, The Fayette Police Department received reports of an attempted robbery at Check Into Cash located in Fayette. According to Assistant Police Chief Mark Allison, a white male entered the business and took an undisclosed amount of money. Allison says at this time they have a person of interest and the investigation is still ongoing. Corporal Jordan Roberts is leading the investigation with the assistance of multiple agencies. If anyone has any information regarding this incident, please contact the Fayette Police Department at (205) 932-5312.

Hosea R. Johnson, who was sentenced in Jan. 2011 for the June 2008 murder of O’Brian “Tadpole” Rodgers of Fayette, was denied parole on March 7 by the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles.

Timothy Vess Benton, 22, of Fayette accepted a plea deal last week in Fayette County Circuit Court, pleading guilty to two counts of second degree sodomy. According to 24th Judicial Circuit District Attorney Andy Hamlin, Benton received a sentence of 17 years in an Alabama Department of Corrections prison for each count, with the sentences to run concurrently. Benton was first arrested on May 4, 2017, and charged with two counts of first degree sodomy with forcible compulsion and two counts of first degree sexual abuse with forcible compulsion.