THE WETUMPKA HERALD Elmore County’s Oldest Newspaper - Established 1898
Wetumpka, AL 36092
50¢
WEDNESDAY • DECEMBER 23, 2015
THEWETUMPKAHERALD.COM
VOL. 118, NO.52
Local whistle-blower awarded $30 million By KEVIN TAYLOR Copy Editor
Monday morning Blake Percival had accomplished two of the three items on his list. He was working on the third by mid-morning Monday. For more than two months the federal government had been keeping Percival on edge wondering if he would ever see a dime of the $30 million settlement he earned after filing a false claims lawsuit
against his former employer USIS. “Every Friday for the last two months I would get the rug pulled right out from under my feet,” said Percival, a former Wetumpka police officer and resident of the area for 10 years. Each Friday Percival was in contact with his attorneys at Beasley Allen Law Firm in Montgomery texting to see if the money was going to be deposited into his account. Every Friday Percival would get the same answer. “Sorry, no.”
But last Friday Percival got a text from Larry Golston first thing that morning saying the law firm will be cutting him a check that afternoon. “It was pure elation,” Percival described his feeling after seeing the text. Percival then got up from his cubical at his job in Montgomery and walked into a broom closet to call his wife. “I had asked her if we were still going to the (Montgomery Christmas) parade and get a sub sandwich afterward. She
Local man hit, killed by vehicle
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See WHISTLE • Page 2
Obama commutes Slapout man’s sentence
By KEVIN TAYLOR Copy Editor
A Wetumpka pedestrian was struck by a car and later died as a result of the incident Saturday evening just outside of the Wetumpka city limits. Lamkeo Phongsamout, 37, was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:30 p.m. after being struck by a 2008 BMW at the 115 mile marker on U.S. Highway 231 on the River Bridge. Alabama State Troopers said the driver of the vehicle stayed at the scene of the accident, which remains under investigation by Troopers. This marks the second Wetumpka pedestrian to be killed in less than a month. Donna Renee Murphy, 46, of Wetumpka was struck and killed by a vehicle in Montgomery Dec. 9.
said yes. Then I asked her how it felt to be a millionaire. And she just started crying,” he recalled. Percival went from having a little more than $50 in his checking account to more than $3 million by Friday afternoon. After dedicating his career to the criminal justice system, Percival was hired by USIS as an investigator for the company, which performed federal background checks to grant security
Mercer was serving 292 months on drug and weapons charges By KEVIN TAYLOR Copy Editor
Kevin Taylor / The Herald
Lt. Ed Gumpf checks his onboard computer earlier this year. Police locally and across the state will increase patrols during the holiday period. Photo by Kevin Taylor
Troopers increasing holiday patrols By KEVIN TAYLOR Copy Editor
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency will have increased patrols on the highways this week through Jan. 1 with the hopes to promote highway safety and protect lives. Given the much lower cost of gas this year compared to last year, Col. John E. Richardson, director of ALEA’s Department
of Public Safety expects the roadways to be much busier. “Alabama State Troopers will work with their law enforcement partners across the state to promote safety,” Richardson said. “Creating a highly visible enforcement presence, Troopers and their county and municipal counterparts will work to prevent crimes See TROOPERS • Page 2
A Slapout man was one of 95 non-violent prisoners who President Barack Obama commuted their prison sentence Friday. Billy R. Mercer Jr. was sentenced to 292 months after being found guilty of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamines and the use or carry of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime. Mercer was sentenced May 24, 2006. The president commuted his sentence, so Mercer will be released April 16, 2016. Mercer was arrested Oct. 10, 2004, in a hotel room in Prattville on an outstanding warrant issued by the Millbrook Police Department, according to federal court documents. See SENTENCE • Page 2
Corn Creek public access project to start in early 2016 By JOHN W. PEELER Managing Editor
The public access area, once leased by the Coosa River Paddling Club, should be back in operation next year through a new joint partnership with Elmore County, the City of Wetumpka and the paddling club. Richie Beyer, the Elmore County engineer said the access road had to be closed for about a year and a half, but finding a solution in creating a new access road had been ongoing until recently.
Prior to the new Emergency Operations Center construction, Beyer said the Coosa River Paddling Club had a lease for the area and maintained the road from the firing range used by the Sheriffs office all the way down from the river. “When we started the construction on the Emergency Operations Center, … it was determined, because of security reasons, we were going to have to cut access back to the park and use an alternate See PADDLERS • Page 2
Contributed / The Herald
The Coosa River Paddling Club LLC., present a check for $15,000 to the Elmore County Commision for the project to reopen Corn Creek to the public. From left to right are Bill Garnett; David Haynes; Vanessa Lynch, Executive Director at Wetumpka Area Chamber of Commerce; Robert Smith, Don Harris, Lonie Carden and Chris Carter. (Back row) County commissioners from left to right are James “Trey” Taylor, Joe Faulk, Chariman David Bowen, Mark Hragyil and Stephanie Daniels Smoke.
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