Four arrested during break in a storage facility

Three men and one woman from Anniston are facing multiple felony charges following their arrest by Glencoe Police.  25 year old Clint Samuel Whistenant, 37 year old Curtis Ray Salers, 23 year old Michael Allen Beal, and 22 year old Katazina Constance Henegar, were each charged with five counts of third-degree burglary, one count of first-degree receiving stolen property and one count of possession of burglary tools, which are felonies. They also received one misdemeanor charge of second-degree criminal trespassing.

The four were arrested by a Glencoe police officer at B&B Storage on U.S. Highway 431. The officer entered the storage facility and found two people loading various items onto a trailer they were pulling behind a Ford F350, which also had two people hiding in it.  The truck had been reported stolen from Anniston a day earlier. Officers said five storage units had the locks cut off and the doors were open, and a ski mask and bolt cutters were all within reach of the suspects. Police say the four are suspects in other burglaries throughout Calhoun County as well, but that investigation is ongoing and there could be follow-up arrests.  All four are in the Etowah County Detention Center on $20,500 bond apiece.

Charges against Gadsden Etowah EMS owner dropped

District Attorney Jimmie Harp

Etowah County District Attorney Jimmy Harp announced Thursday that charges against the owner of Gadsden Etowah EMS for writing bad checks have been dropped.  Roger Dale Stanmore previously had warrants for four counts of negotiating a worthless negotiable instrument, a Class A misdemeanor. Gadsden Etowah EMS employees walked off the job Feb. 21 because their paychecks bounced. The company handed in its medical transport license Feb. 25 to the Alabama Department of Public Health.  Harp said Stanmore presented payment in full along with all associated fees to the district attorney's office Wednesday. All warrants for writing the bad checks, including the payroll checks, were withdrawn on Thursday.  Harp said Stanmore has no other matters pending with his office.

Manslaughter case headed to St. Clair Grand Jury

An attorney representing a woman charged with the manslaughter death of her boyfriend waived her preliminary hearing Thursday and the case will go to a St. Clair County grand jury.  The grand jury will determine if there is enough evidence to warrant a criminal trial in the state’s case against 26 year old Candice Buckhanon,  of Pell City, who allegedly shot and killed her boyfriend 30 year old Allan Jordan,  of Pell City.  Buckhanon’s defense attorney, Gibson Holladay, waived the preliminary hearing on behalf of his client in St. Clair County District Court Judge Alan Furr’s courtroom Thursday morning.  The southern division grand jury is expected to convene in June.  Buckhanon has remained free on a $75,000 bond.

Gadsden police investigating robbery

Gadsden police are investigating the reported Wednesday night robbery of a woman outside her business on Ewing Avenue.  The 56-year-old woman told police she was closing down her business about 7 p.m. She looked out into the well-lit parking lot and stepped out to lock the door. As she was locking up, a man pointed a handgun at her and the woman screamed, telling him to take whatever he wanted.  The robber snatched her purse, knocked her cellphone out of her hand and picked it up before taking the keys from her purse and leaving in her 2011 Toyota Camry. The woman also had two checkbooks, six debit or credit cards and cash stolen. Her cellphone was recovered a short distance from the business.

RMC scaling back operations at Jacksonville hospital

Regional Medical Center officials announced  this week said they have begun combining units at RMC Jacksonville with the main hospital campus in Anniston.  The intensive care unit at RMC Jacksonville, and that the hospital’s obstetrics services are being combined with those at the main campus in Anniston.  RMC President and CEO David McCormack  did not specify how many staff members will be affected by the change. McCormack said that with federal spending cuts and reductions in the reimbursement rates for Medicare and Medicaid, the nonprofit hospital system must look for ways to increase efficiency. Administrators felt that because most women in the area go to RMC’s main campus for obstetrics and gynecology services, and because most of the system’s doctors in that field work in Anniston, combining the departments would be cost effective.

Anniston Housing Authority unveils redevelopment plan

The Anniston Housing authority is considering a multi million dollar redevelopment plan which would call for Anniston’s three oldest and largest public housing complexes to be demolished and remaining units renovated.

The proposal unveiled Thursday recommends tearing down Cooper Homes, Glen Addie Homes and Constantine Homes.  The demolition, would require the temporary moving of hundreds of residents and is part of a comprehensive, multi-year strategy to revitalize and modernize 11 of the authority's 12 properties.  The board is set to vote in April on whether to adopt the plan, at which point the authority would immediately begin implementing the strategy.