HeadlinesDon Fletcher

Fountain officer arrested on contraband charges
By DON FLETCHER News Staff Writer Four people, including a Brewton man who worked as an officer at Fountain Correctional Facility, were arrested recently by Alabama Department of Corrections investigators on charges of promoting prison contraband. According to a press release issued by state corrections officials, Correctional Officer Tarrence Dramon Tolbert, 39, of Brewton, was arrested February 24 after an ADOC Law Enforcement Services Division agent investigated an allegation of…
Monday fire destroys Marshall Ave. home
By DON FLETCHER News Staff Writer A Marshall Avenue home was declared a total loss after a Monday morning (March 9) fire that started in a car parked in the garage was fanned by stiff winds and quickly spread throughout the home’s attic. The destructive blaze was reported to emergency dispatchers at 9:31 a.m. as a vehicle fire. City firefighters were conducting an inspection at a school just two blocks…
Finally, a decision
Council approves land swap for new hospital By DON FLETCHER News Staff Writer For Escambia County Healthcare Authority officials, the Monday (March 9) Atmore City Council meeting represented a case of “fourth time lucky.” The council, having failed three times to act on a request for a donation of 10 acres in the Rivercane retail-industrial park for a new hospital, approved by a 4-1 vote a land swap under which…
Atmore man charged with drug trafficking
By DON FLETCHER News Staff Writer An Atmore man is facing several drug charges, including trafficking in methamphetamine, after he was arrested last week in Pensacola. According to Escambia County (Fla.) Jail records, 42-year-old John Bradley James of a Sneed Drive address in Atmore was freed Monday (March 2) after total bonds of $56,500 were posted on his behalf. He is charged with one count each of trafficking in meth…
Pastor indicted
By DON FLETCHER News Staff Writer An investigation that started in Atmore and is still ongoing here has resulted in the indictment and arrest in Monroeville of a minister who pastors churches in both cities. According to an article in last week’s Monroe Journal, Garyl Jermaine Gibbs, 47, of Monroeville was arrested after being indicted on one count of first-degree sodomy and two counts of second-degree sodomy. The indictment was…