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Eclectic Observer Page 4
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THURSDAY • JUNE 16, 2016
TheWetumpkaHerald.com
Vol. 27, No. 24
Town council member arrested By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
An Eclectic town council member was arrested earlier today by the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office on what was said to be charges of criminal coercion. Eclectic police confirmed the arrest of Wanda Estes, who holds the council place 5 seat. ECSO served the warrant on behalf of the Eclectic Police Department, which
Estes
went through the county circuit clerk’s office to grant the warrant. An assistant in the circuit clerk’s office said it was awaiting service charges from the ECSO, which should arrive Thursday, before it could release any information on Estes’ charges.
Eclectic Police Chief Robert Head said an EPD officer signed off on Estes’ warrant. Head said he could not say much surrounding the detail involving the arrest, and the origins of the charges, however he said the investigating officer was Christopher Lindsay. Lindsay said he was only able to give limited details surrounding the incident, but said the charges came from a call he had responded to last week, and which
Officials searching for another credit card fraud suspect
Teens plead guilty to murder By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
Another Elmore County resident was said to have fallen victim to credit card theft and now Elmore County Sheriff’s Department is looking to the public to help identify an “unknown” female suspect, according to a Crime Stoppers report. Images taken from video surveillance footage show what appears to be black female in a white top waiting to make a purchase of what was said to be three cartons of cigarettes at a Montgomery convenience on the 900 block of W. South Boulevard. Elmore County Sheriff’s Office said the woman obtained the victim’s credit See FRAUD • Page 7
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Estes at some point became involved in. Lindsay said the call was in reference to a verbal altercation at a residence on the 1100 block of Georgia Road, around June 10. He described it as a kind of “sticky situation” in which he said the victim became the victim twice. Lindsay emphasized that the warrant against Estes was signed on behalf of the victim. See ARREST • Page 7
In what the Elmore County DA’s office called a last minute deal, two teens pleaded guilty to murder in the Wetumpka area shooting that occurred last year during what appeared to be a drug deal and robbery. Assistant District Attorney C.J. Robinson said Donald Zeigler, 19, and Martavious Jennings, 19, entered their guilty plea sometime shortly before their scheduled Monday Jennings morning trial. “Both defendants decided they did not want to roll the bones in the trial,” said Robinson. Zeigler was sentenced to 30 years for shooting and killing John Oiler, who was also a juvenile at the time, Robinson said. Ziegler It was said to have taken place during the course of a robbery in which Zeigler, and Jennings, took what Robinson said was about $20 from the victims, as well as narcotics. Another unnamed juvenile was said to be present.
Corey Arwood / The Observer
Stoddard’s Bait Shop is at the center of a dispute between the shop’s owners and the City of Wetumpka.
Bait shop owners to fight city By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
The owners of a local bait shop that was affected by a nearly three-month downtown street closure have rejected the city’s offer to acquire their property and have said they are now preparing for the legal proceedings of condemnation court. City council members voted in the last meeting to make the offer of $73,500 to the owners of Stoddard’s Bait and Tackle. However, owner Chris Carter said he and his wife and business partner, Therese Carter, have done their “judicial prudence” and were going to turn over
the matter to their attorney, and prepare for condemnation court proceedings. Carter said the offer did not go nearly far enough. The appraisal and offer Carter said was lower than what he called the property’s tax-appraised value, and added, did not adequately address the actual business side of the property. The initial offer made to the Carters was $58,000, based on the city’s appraisal estimates. However the city attorney, Regina Edwards, said the additional amount was added in a compromise settlement only
See PLEA • Page 3
See DISPUTE • Page 3
County Commission tables renewal of jail healthcare contract By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
The Elmore County Commission voted to table a measure which would have renewed the Elmore County Jail’s inmate health care contract with Quality Correctional Health Care until its next meeting on June 27. Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin said that the county originally signed an agreement with Quality in 2012, which was set as a three-year contract. The contract has now entered a yearly renewal phase and last year’s extension was done as a flat, or no additional charge, renewal. Franklin said he wanted the commissioners
to know that when the contract was originally agreed upon in 2012 it was based on a 270-inmate capacity at the jail. “We are nowhere near the 270 capacity,” Franklin said noting that the jail regularly houses about 20 percent less inmates than what the original contract calls for. Franklin said that the jail is currently running from 210-216 inmates on average and that he did not see those increasing over the next several years. He noted that the lower numbers were due to guidelines mandated by the Alabama Sentencing Commission. Franklin said that a lot of people who would have formally been placed in jail facilities are
now being placed in community correction programs. Quality’s legal counsel Justin Barkley said that his company was originally going to suggest an increase in the contract based upon inflationary figures, but due to the jail being under-filled he was recommending another flat renewal. The current cost of the program is $390,118. Commissioner James “Trey” Taylor wanted to know if there was a way the county could actually get a cost savings due to the lower numbers at the jail. Barkley responded that close to 70 percent See COMMISSION • Page 3
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