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June 20, 2018 Vol. 126, No. 122 www.alexcityoutlook.com 75¢
Key games facing the Reeltown Rebels this fall.
ACPD makes arrest under ‘revenge porn’ law By MITCH SNEED Editor
The Alexander City Police Department had a situation arise last week that led to the arrest of a man on a new charge that many may not even know exists, but was established to end the victimization of people who took private photos while in relationships that were not intended for anyone but their partner to see.
According to police reports, William Morris Whatley II, 30, of Alexander City was arrested on June 12 for domestic violence and harassment after allegations were made by a woman he had been in a relationship with. According to Alexander City Police Department Chief Jay Turner, the following day the victim was at the police department checking with officers about the case. “While she was here talking with
Cpl. Cross in the domestic violence unit, she got word that there were pictures that were taken of her and the defendant in compromising conditions were posted to the internet,” Turner said. “We were able to verify that the images were there and that the suspect had posted them and we arrested him on the additional charge on June 13.” Whatley was arrested and charged with a crime that has become known as “revenge porn.”
Recycling Center seals its legacy of giving
Cliff Williams / The Outlook
See PORN • Page 6
Great Bethel suit resumes on Thursday Testimony suspended on April 26 as church finances questioned
By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
Forty years of service appears to be coming to an end for the volunteers of the Alex City Recycling Center. The downward spiral of pricing for recycled paper has forced the city to close the operation run by volunteers. “I graduated from Russell Corp. in Dec. of 1998,” Clarence Abernathy said. “I went to work here in See RECYCLE • Page 6 Joe Croley, right, a volunteer at the Alexander City Recycling Center presents a token of appreciation to fellow volunteer Clarence Abernathy.
The charge was part of a move to tighten up the state’s sex crimes laws in 2017, where four new categories were added to the state’s sex offense law. Officially known as distribution of an intimate, private image, Turner said he believes this is the first time his department has charged someone under the new provision. According to the office of Attorney General Steve Marshall, the law applies
By MITCH SNEED Editor
Submitted / The Outlook
Volunteers helping with the St. John the Apostle Catholic Church’s monthly Brown Bag Food Ministry load up shopping carts with boxes and bags of food to be given to any one of 200 families who receive assistance through the program.
HELPING HAND Catholic church provides food to those in need By DONALD CAMPBELL Staff Writer
Cars lined the road next to St. John the Apostle Church in Alexander City Tuesday morning as the church held its monthly Brown Bag Food Ministry. Local volunteers joined members of the church in sorting through fruits, vegetables and a number of other food items and carrying
them to the vehicles of 200 families registered to be a part of the ministry. “We started this 20 years ago with nine families,” ministry co-coordinator Dennis Wolny said. “Today, we are helping 200 families once a month.” The day began early Tuesday morning, when a truck from the East Alabama Food
The trial in a civil lawsuit involving former leaders at Alexander City’s Great Bethel Baptist Church and the church’s longtime minister Rev. Dr. Emerson Ware Jr. will resume Thursday morning at 9 a.m. Court records indicate that Judge Ray Martin will reconvene testimony and the presentation of evidence will resume after the trial was suspended on April 26 when mountains of financial evidence bogged down testimony. The suit, which was filed on behalf of a group of the church’s board of directors on Oct. 12, 2017, seeks to recover nearly $100,000 as well as complete records and accounting of charges dating back to 2001 made using a business credit card issued in the church’s name. The suit also asks the court to determine which set of bylaws are legally the ones by which the church is governed, citing changes made
See FOOD • Page 6
See SUIT • Page 6
Local couple at center of Tallassee shooting Harold Miller, gunman in a double-murder suicide at Walmart in Tallassee Tuesday, was driving one vehicle while Barbara Buttles and his wife Tresea Miller were in another. Harold Miller rammed their car with his, shot his wife Tresea and Buttles and then turned the gun on himself. His body was found lying in the Walmart parking lot outside the vehicle when officials arrived on the scene.
Shooter ignored protective order to kill wife of 43 years, her friend before turning the gun on himself By DAVID GRANGER Managing Editor
Three people – two women and a man – are dead in an apparent murdersuicide in the parking lot of Tallassee Walmart on Tuesday morning. A press release issued Tuesday afternoon by the Tallassee Police Department identified the dead as 65-year-old Harold Miller, his wife,
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58-year-old Tresea Miller, and Barbara Buttles, 75. Tallassee Police Chief Matthew Higgins said the incident appeared to be domestic in nature. Court records show that the man had been served with a protective order on Monday and ordered out of the couple’s home and to not have any contact with Tresea Miller or their adult son. See SHOOTING • Page 6
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