Today’s News Headlines from Alabama 810 News 

• Angry Parrott assists in capture of home invader
• Cherokee accident claims 3 lives
• Gadsden attorney jailed for failure to appear
• Waffle House Robber strikes again
• State to widen rural roads

Angry Parrott assists in capture of home invader 

25 year old Isiah Lee Russell was arrested Saturday and has been charged with Burglary and Assault.  According to Calhoun County Sheriff Larry Amerson, The arrest stemmed from a home invasion Saturday morning.  When Jacksonville police arrived the victim had ran out the back door of the home.  Officers found Russell still in the home battling with a large parrot who apparently was startled and attacked Russell.  Officers said that they found Russell battling with the Parrott and arrested him.   The sheriff credited the quick response by Jacksonville Police as deputies were tied up in another area of the county.  According to the sheriff, Russell has had previous burglary arrests, but this is the first involving an assault.

Cherokee accident claims 3 lives 

Three people were killed and three others injured in an accident involving an 18-wheel truck and at two other vehicles early Monday evening in Cherokee County.. The accident occurred shortly before 7 p.m. on Alabama Highway 35 across from Gaylesville School. Reports indicated that the 18-wheeler overturned and a vehicle was pinned under the 18-wheeler with passengers trapped inside. Gaylesville Fire Department, Cherokee County Rescue Squad, Cherokee County EMS Ambulance Service, Centre Police and Cherokee County Sheriff's Deputies responded to the accident scene. Traffic on 35 was blocked as workers sought to treat the injured and clear the roadway. State Troopers say that names of the victims are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Gadsden attorney jailed for failure to appear 

A Gadsden attorney was arrested Monday after he did not report to serve a sentence for not paying the city's occupational tax.  58 year Edward Cunningham, was ordered to serve 60 days after he did not appear to serve a two-day sentence in April, according to court documents.  According to court records, Cunningham did not pay occupational tax last year from April through August.  Gadsden municipal court Judge Mary Simmons and the city prosecutor reused themselves from the case. The case was prosecuted by Jacksonville attorney Grant Paris and Jacksonville's municipal judge heard the case.  Cunningham appeared in Gadsden municipal court on April 18 and pleaded not guilty, according to court documents. After hearing the evidence, the judge found him guilty and ordered him to serve 60 days in jail and pay a $300 fine.  All but two days of the sentence were suspended and Cunningham was ordered to serve 48 hours in jail, and he was placed on 24 months of unsupervised probation, according to documents.  When Cunningham did not report to serve the 48 hours, from April 21 to April 23, his probation was revoked and he was ordered to serve the original 60-day sentence.

Waffle House Robber strikes again 

Police in Oxford are searching for a suspect in a third waffle house robbery in the last two weeks.  The latest robbery occurred early Monday morning when a man with a bandanna over half of his face entered the Waffle House on Hinton Drive in Oxford and armed with a black revolver demanded money.  The man fled on foot with an undetermined amount of cash.  Police are searching for a black male about 5 feet 7 inches tall weighing between 140 and 150 pounds.  A robber fitting the same description robbed Waffle houses in Oxford and Anniston during the past two weeks and police say there is a strong possibility that the robberies are related.

State to widen rural roads 

The Alabama Department of Transportation is pumping $78 million into making rural highways safer. Two-lane rural state roads now 24 feet wide will be widened to 28 feet to provide a narrow shoulder in hopes of preventing run-off-the-road crashes. Of the 1,134 deaths last year on public roads, 787 people were killed in rural crashes. Of the deaths, at least 440 can be directly attributed to vehicles leaving the road, said Bill Shanks, statistician for the Alabama Department of Public Safety. Shanks said he feels the number is much higher because multiple events determine how police code wreck reports. For instance, overturning caused 97 deaths last year. Along with widening the roads, DOT will add enhanced, clearer signs and road striping.  Alabama ranked higher than the Southeast average of 10 states for the number of fatalities on rural roads per capita, according to a recent Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama report.   As of Monday, there had been 353 highway fatalities this year. Last year at this time, there were 336 fatalities. Traffic deaths increased 15 percent from 2003 to 2004, according to traffic statistics. ALDOT increased its resurfacing budget by $78 million this year to do the resurfacing work.  Work on Alabama 75 from Oneonta to Snead is scheduled to begin next week, according to  Gary Smith, DOT district engineer for Blount and St. Clair counties. In St. Clair County, Alabama 34 and Alabama 174 will be resurfaced and widened.  Transportation Director Joe McInnes said there is not a set number of road miles to be widened. McInnes said the shoulders will be added until the money runs out.
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