Local News
Trial to get under way for suspect in shooting over a bull
Jury selection begins Tuesday
Jury selection begins Tuesday in the trial of a man accused of shooting another man following a fight over a bull and leaving him paralyzed, District Attorney Kristi Valls said.
Jerry Odum Pope, 58, of 19848 East Limestone Road in Toney, was charged March 29 with first-degree assault, after a witness told authorities he shot his neighbor, Arthur “James” Gardner, once in the chest at Gardner’s home at 19908 East Limestone Road.
The two men were apparently arguing that Sunday afternoon about Gardner’s bull getting out and mixing with Pope’s cattle, Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely said at the time.
“This led to Gardner hitting Pope with a stick,” Blakely said. “Pope then produced a handgun and shot Gardner once in the chest.
When deputies arrived, they found Gardner lying in the pasture with a gunshot wound to his chest, Blakely said.
Surgeons at Huntsville Hospital were unable to remove the bullet lodged near the top of Gardner’s spine, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. His lung was nicked by the bullet.
He has since moved elsewhere.
Pope has remained free following the incident after posting a $10,000 bail bond.
Jury selection will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday and take about an hour, and then testimony will follow, Valls said.
Assistant District Attorney Becky Grimes will be the prosecutor.
This will be the last trial of the year for the Limestone County District Attorney’s Office.
Valls and her assistant district attorneys will bring 195 cases before the court Monday, not including drug cases, only assaults, property crimes, robberies and homicides. The District Attorney’s Office will be taking pleas before Limestone Circuit Judge Bob Baker on Monday.
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Local woman dies in Friday fire
A woman who was badly burned when she was discovered in her unit at Elmwood Apartments by police and firefighters late Friday night died not long before midnight, authorities said.
Vickie Strasser, 52, was taken by ambulance at about 10:40 p.m. to Athens-Limestone Hospital with second- and third-degree burns over 95 percent of her body. MedFlight was called to rush her to Huntsville Hospital at about 11:30 p.m., but she died before the helicopter arrived. -
Athens Police make 14 arrests in Friday night drug roundup
Friday night was a busy one for Athens Police officers. While several investigators were conducting a roundup that resulted in 14 arrests, other officers responded to a fire call at Elmwood apartments (see story on today’s front page).
Lt. Trevor Harris said officers conducted search warrants at two homes — one at 1210 Plato Jones St. and another at 903 Brownsferry St.
Madison Police Department provided two additional officers and dogs from the K-9 unit to assist. -
Family displaced by fire seeking residence to rent
One family displaced by last Sunday’s fire at Athens Village Apartments is desperately looking for a home or apartment to rent in the area.
Scott Robertson and his wife, Amanda, and four children, daughter Jordan, 16; son Matthew, 14; son Dallas, 9; and daughter Lily, 5, lost everything they owned on Aug. 29 when an early morning fire — sparked by a cigarette thrown on a patio chair outside another apartment — destroyed all eight units in Building D of the apartment complex at 1711 W. Elm St. in Athens. -
TVA ranks in Top 10 for economic development
For the fifth year in a row, the Tennessee Valley Authority has been named by Site Selection magazine as one of the top 10 North American utilities for economic development achievement. -
Bank robbers remain at large in city, county
Athens Police are still searching for a white man who robbed TVA Credit Union on East Hobbs Street in Athens on July 9.
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Woman burned in fire at Elmwood Apartments
A woman who was burned over 95 percent of her body after a fire in her unit at Elmwood Apartments was taken to Athens-Limestone Hospital by ambulance at around 10:45 p.m.
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Trinity reunion parade will be at 10 a.m. Saturday
The Trinity High School Grand Reunion parade will be at 10 a.m. Saturday in Athens.
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Keeping the bees
Limestone County Beekeepers Association received a grant from the Alabama Mountains, Rivers and Valleys district of the RC&D Council.
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Trinity High School had many distinguished graduates
Local resident Lt. Col. James L. Walker gathered biographies of some of these graduates as the school celebrates its annual Grand Reunion today and Saturday in Athens.
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Part of Clinton Street in Athens to be closed at least 2 more weeks
Clinton Street in Athens, between Lee and Forrest streets, will be closed for at least two more weeks while Athens Utilities replaces sewer lines that are up to 75 years old, an official said.
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