Anniston Attorney indicted in murder plot

Matthew Walter Merrill

An Anniston Attorney, in custody on drug charges has been indicted by a  Calhoun County grand jury for allegedly trying to arrange a man’s murder.  32 year old Matthew Walter Merrill is charged with soliciting another man, Gerald Anton Griffin, to kill Patrick Thomas McCarroll, according to a grand jury indictment handed down Thursday.  The indictment alleges that Merrill’s involvement in the plot took place between Jan. 1, 2008, and April 1, 2014.. Merrill was arrested last Monday by Anniston police on charges including possession of a controlled substance, illegal possession of prescription drugs and public drunkenness..  Circuit Judge Brian Howell set Merrill’s bond on the murder solicitation charge at $500,000. In addition, conditions of Merrill’s release include having no contact with Patrick McCarroll, Lindsey Ghee or her immediate family. Ghee is a daughter of Anniston attorney and former state senator Doug Ghee.  Griffin, of Mount Meigs, pleaded guilty in 2012 to two counts of first-degree robbery, and was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Prison officials said Friday he was at the St. Clair Correctional Facility near Springville.  Griffin, formerly of Oxford, was indicted by a Calhoun County grand jury in 2008 in connection with the shooting death of Broderick Few in Hobson City on April 1, 2008. The state later declined to prosecute those charges against Griffin.