Woman assaulted, hairpiece stolen during cosmetology appointment
By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
The following felony arrests were reported by officers of the Atmore Police Department (APD) during the period January 13-15, 2025:
Keria Brown
The 30-year-old Atmore woman was taken into custody January 14 on charges that developed from a late-December assault on another woman who was in the middle of a hair and makeup appointment.
Police reports show that APD officers were sent around 5:50 p.m. to an Ashley Street residence in reference to an assault. They contacted the female victim, who had visible facial injuries. The woman told police she was in the middle of her hair and makeup appointment when Keria Brown “came in and began challenging her.”
Brown reportedly began striking the victim in the face with an unidentified object she had in her hand, then took the victim’s expensive hair piece and fled.
Arrest warrants charging Brown with one count each of third-degree burglary, third degree robbery and third-degree theft of property, all felonies, along with one count each of third-degree assault and harassment.
Brown was booked into the Escambia County Detention Center (ECDC), from which she was released January 15.
Kennedy Crook
Crook, 44, was arrested January 13 in connection with an assault reported January 9 at Atmore Village Apartments.
Officers arrived around 8:45 p.m. and contacted the victim who police said suffered “multiple broken ribs and other injuries.”
Crook was identified as one of the individuals responsible for the injuries, and arrest warrants were obtained charging him with second-degree assault.
The other individual involved in the assault, whose name has not yet been released, has been identified by APD investigators and is now the subject of an arrest warrant charging him with second-degree assault.
Crook remained in the ECDC, Friday, January 17.
Curtis Hayes
LaCarlos Barnes
Hayes, 34, and Barnes, 44, were arrested January 15 after the vehicle in which they were traveling was pulled over around 11 p.m. on Jack Springs Road because it had no license plate.
When the officer approached the vehicle, he “noticed a shotgun in the passenger seat,” with the passenger, Hayes, who was detained then arrested when police discovered he had a prior domestic violence conviction that stripped him of his right to possess a firearm. He is charged with being a person forbidden to possess a firearm.
While talking with the driver, Barnes, a small amount of methamphetamine and a glass pipe used to ingest narcotics were found. Barnes is charged with one count each of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Both Atmore men were booked into the ECDC, where each remained on Friday, January 17.
Michael Depew
The 49-year-old Flomaton man was arrested January 12 after a traffic stop yielded more than almost an ounce of methamphetamine.
Depew’s vehicle was pulled over around 9:45 a.m. on North Main street for an unspecified traffic violation. According to the reporting officer, Depew exhibited “suspicious behavior,” so the policeman asked for consent to search the vehicle, and Depew reportedly gave consent.
Police also found “items used to package narcotics,” and Depew was charged with one count each of drug trafficking and possession of drug paraphernalia.
He remained behind bars Friday, January 17.
Jeremiah James
Kendra Jones
The Atmore man and woman were arrested January 13 after a traffic stop on Martin Luther King Drive turned up “a large amount” of synthetic cannabis that covered the driver’s seat of the vehicle in which James was driving, and Jones was a passenger.
The traffic stop took place around 2:55 p.m. after an officer recognized James as the subject of three active misdemeanor warrants obtained by city police.
While taking James into custody, the officer noticed a large amount synthetic cannabis (Spice) “covering the driver’s seat.” A probable cause search was initiated, which turned up more Spice, as well as undisclosed amounts of methamphetamine, marijuana, and items used to ingest narcotics.
James was charged two counts of possession of a controlled Substance and one count each of second-degree possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
A female officer responded to the scene and searched Jones, who had an undisclosed quantity of Spice and was charged with one count each of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
They were both booked into the county jail, from which they were subsequently released.