Talladega man convicted of murder

Christopher Issac Surles

It took A Talladega County jury of seven men and five women only 35 minutes Wednesday morning to find 24 year old Christopher Isaac “El Safari” Surles, guilty of murder ending a two-day trial.  Surles now faces 20 to 99 years or life in prison. He will be sentenced Sept. 9 at 1 p.m. by Circuit Judge Bo Hollingsworth.  Surles was convicted of killing 19 year old Matthew Howie, on July 13, 2012, on Kentuck Mountain in Munford. Howie had been involved in a robbery with Surles and another person the day before, and Surles allegedly killed him to keep him from snitching.  Surles was found asleep in Howie’s car in the parking lot of a Walmart in Tennessee two days after the murder. The murder weapon, with two live rounds still in it, was in Surles’ lap, and his shoes still had Howie’s blood on them.  Surles is apparently a follower of the Sovereign Citizen belief system, represented himself at trial. He asked no questions of potential jurors at the beginning of the trial -- although he did ask Hollingsworth to dismiss the entire panel -- and his opening statement was a seemingly incoherent reading of various federal statutes that did not appear to bear directly on his case. He was the only witness testifying on his behalf, telling the jury that he understood there was a circumstantial case against him but that he was innocent.   During his closing argument, Surles said the evidence against him was “by constitutional law, inadmissible. The amendments were not brought up in cross examination. … It was not shown that state or constitutional law were followed in the complaint for his arrest warrant."