Three killed in two separate monday accidents on I 59

Traffic on I-59 near Gadsden returned to normal Monday morning after a deadly crash involving multiple vehicles.  The southbound side of the interstate was shut down from mile marker 182 to Ashville after a car collided with an 18-wheeler around 2:30 a.m. Monday morning.  Troopers say that 26 year old Santos Reyes, of Rainbow City, was driving the wrong way on the interstate when he crashed about three miles south of Attalla.  Troopers believe Reyes was driving north in the southbound lanes when his vehicle collided with the 18-wheeler. He was killed in the crash. Investigators say Reyes was not wearing a seatbelt at the time and that alcohol may have been a factor. The driver of the 18-wheeler was not injured.  A second collision happened after police had arrived on the scene. An Attalla officer's car was struck after a Toyota Camry hit an oil slick and slid into the police car. A Ford Ranger then hit the same slick and struck the Camry. The officer was injured and transported to the hospital. Authorities say the officer will be out for a couple of days. The conditions of the people in the Camry and Ranger were not released.  In a separate accident Monday night authorities say that Two people were killed in a two-vehicle wreck in St. Clair County .  The wreck happened along Interstate 59 southbound at the 169 mile marker, near Steele, according to Alabama State Troopers spokesman Sgt. Steve Jarrett. Troopers were called to the wreck at 8:26 p.m., last night. Other details have not been available

Talladega businessman pleads guilty to federal banking violations

A Talladega scrap yard owner pleaded guilty Monday to violating a federal banking rule on cash withdrawals and also agreed to forfeit more than $1.2 million in civil and criminal actions brought by federal prosecutors.  61 year old Edward M. Hindman, owner of Hindman's Wrecker Service & Salvage in Talladega, entered his guilty plea to one count of structuring before U.S. District Judge L. Scott Coogler in a Tuscaloosa courtroom.  Hindman must forfeit $119,400 to the government as part of his plea agreement, according to court documents. He is scheduled to be sentenced June 26.  Hindman also agreed to forfeit another $1,148,981 in a civil suit brought by the U.S. Attorneys Office against money seized from Hindman's bank account in March 2011. In a stipulation of settlement filed Monday in the civil case, Hindman admitted no wrongdoing, but acknowledged that the government had reasonable cause to seize the money in 2011 and commence the forfeiture proceedings.  The U.S. Attorney's Office brought the criminal charge against Hindman on Thursday. Hindman acknowledges in his plea agreement that he intentionally structured, and directed others to structure, cash withdrawals at First National Bank Talladega in amounts less than $10,000 to avoid triggering the bank's requirement to file a Currency Transaction Report with the U.S. Treasury Department on all transactions greater than $10,000.

Oxford Coca Cola plant has new owner

Oxford's Coca-Cola distribution facility is now under new owners ship as  part of the soda manufacturer's strategy to improve its relationship with customers.  Birmingham-based Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, the third-largest Coke bottler in the U.S., took control Monday of the Oxford facility. The deal, announced last year, will make Oxford the pilot site for new distribution technology, putting it on the front lines of Coca-Cola's plan to modernize and redevelop its North American market. Through the deal, Oxford Coca-Cola Bottling Co., formerly Alabama Coca-Cola Bottling, recently hired nine additional truck drivers to deliver product for a total of 133 employees at the facility.  Opened 111 years ago, Oxford Coca-Cola once bottled beverages, but is now solely a distributor for hundreds of Coke products, delivering 3.8 million cases of beverages each year in a 10-county radius.

Two teens face robbery charges

Attalla police apprehend Two teenagers after they allegedly robbed someone whom they contacted on Facebook about purchasing a gun.  19 year old Douglas Youngblood, of Fairfield and a 17-year-old boy from Birmingham were charged Saturday with first-degree robbery. The pair allegedly contacted an Albertville woman about buying a gun and met her at the Waffle House in Boaz.  The woman said one of the teens got out and asked to see the gun. When she handed it to him, he pulled out another gun and pointed it at her, demanding her cellphone. The teen then got into his vehicle and sped off. He was later stopped and arrested by Attalla Police.  Police recovered both the stolen gun and phone.

Childersburg couple arrested on drug charges

A Childersburg couple has been arrested on various felony drug and child endangerment charges.  32 year old Rusty Donovan Truex,  and 29 year old Karen Lacresia Truex, were both charged with manufacture of a controlled substance in the first degree, possession of a controlled substance, felony possession of drug paraphernalia and chemical endangerment of a child.  Talladega County Sheriff’s deputies had gone to the couple’s home on Childersburg-Fayetteville Highway to serve misdemeanor warrants on Truex, who apparently saw them coming and began throwing what appeared to be components of a methamphetamine laboratory out the window, in front of the deputies.  Task Force agents discovered there was a 4-year-old child inside the residence where the Truexes were allegedly cooking meth. The child was turned over to the Talladega County Department of Human Resources.  According to Talladega County Sheriff’s Captain Bill Kennedy, the initial warrants against Truex were for sexual misconduct and unlawful imprisonment in the second degree.  Truex was released from jail in June after pleading guilty to attempted extortion. In late 2011, he and a female accomplice set up a fake kidnapping scheme and demanded that the woman’s husband pay Truex $500 or she would be killed. Truex has also pleaded guilty to burglary.

Boaz man arrested in burglary of cemetary

A Boaz man was arrested on felony theft charges after allegedly burglarizing a cemetery stealing equipment. 35 year old Chris Cason, has been charged with third-degree theft of property and first-degree theft of property. He allegedly broke into Hillcrest Cemetery and stole an all-terrain vehicle, two string trimmers, a leaf blower and other miscellaneous tools.  A cellphone was found in the storage building and it was later determined to belong to Cason. Most of the items also were recovered.  Cason is in the Marshall County Detention Center.