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THE WETUMPKA HERALD Elmore County’s Oldest Newspaper - Established 1898
Wetumpka, AL 36092
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WEDNESDAY • MARCH 23, 2016
THEWETUMPKAHERALD.COM
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VOL. 118, NO.9
Council considers redistricting City elections near as redistricting is considered, new budget approved By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
Corey Arwood / The Herald
Accused killer Marcus L. Edwards sits awaiting to be heard in a bond hearing where his bond on two counts of murder and two counts of assault was set at $700,000 for his role in Saturday’s drive-by shooting on South Shelby Street.
Families, officials seek answers in ‘senseless’ shooting that killed two
SUSPECT: ‘I believe I’m innocent,’ as bond set at $700,000
By MITCH SNEED and COREY ARWOOD Staff Writers
By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
Wetumpka Police Department officials are still searching for answers in Saturday’s drive-by shooting on South Shelby Street that has left two people dead. Wetumpka Police Chief Danny Billingsley said Sunday the shooting may have been related to a drug deal, but family members of the victim say that wasn’t the case. At about 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Billingsley said that a single car with two occupants pulled onto South Shelby Street and immediately shots began coming from the vehicle. “There was just one vehicle and at this time we believe that there was just one shooter and that was Marcus L. Edwards, a suspect that we now have in custody,” Billingsley said. “Information we have received indicates that the shooter began firing Family members are mourning the loss of into a group of people who were out- 19-year-old D’Osha Jackson, top and Darryl See ANSWERS • Page 3 ‘Bunny” Hunt.
Accused killer Marcus L. Edwards remains in the Elmore County Jail, now on a $700,000 bond. Edwards was arrested by Wetumpka police after a drive-by shooting Saturday afternoon and charged with two counts of murder and two counts of assault in the first degree. Edwards, 32, of Wetumpka, appeared for the first time before a court Monday and heard the charges against him for his alleged involvement in the Saturday’s shooting. Elmore County Chief Assistant District Attorney C.J. Robinson asked that Edwards’ bond be increased from the initial bond of $320,000 set by District Court Judge Glenn Goggans. See SUSPECT • Page 5
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Executive director of Elmore County Economic Authority Leisa Finley, stands with Elmore Mayor Margaret White, and County Comissioner Joe Faulk, along with EDECA chairman Bart Mercer, in front of the the new location of a Dollar General store set to open in Elmore.
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Corey Arwood / The Herald
The five council districts in Wetumpka are being considered for changes and possible redistricting for the first time since 2011. The proposed changes were presented at the meeting Monday night.
By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
The mayor of Elmore, members of the Elmore County Economic Development Authority along with district commission representative, Joe Faulk, celebrated the result of what was said to be a five-year effort to get a retail store in the town
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Redistricting efforts for upcoming city elections, adoption of a city budget and the city’s response to last weekend’s shootings along with the Company Street sinkhole, were the most discussed topics discussed at Monday’s city council meeting. It was the first reading for the redistricting project undertaken by Central Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission at the request of the city. After the meeting, Candy Masters, city clerk, said Wetumpka’s five districts had to be defined by May 23, three months before municipal elections scheduled August 23. She said candidates would begin qualifying the first week in July. Alan Axford, a planner and geographic information systems analyst with CARPDC, presented the proposed redistricting to the council. Reasons for redistricting, or changing city council district boundaries, include various annexations or the development of new subdivisions or the modification of existing residences. “The city council noted that they need to be looked at, essentially to ensure that one district didn’t have a significant amount of population greater than what was in other districts, they wanted to make it more even just before the elections,” said Axford. He said the last federal census was in 2012
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of Elmore. The construction on the Dollar General is nearly complete and Leisa Finley, ECEDA executive director, said it was a matter of weeks before the store opens. The store is located alongside what will be new limits of U.S. Highway 14 once it’s the proposed See STORE • Page 3