Huntsville, Alabama, Police Officer Convicted of Excessive Use of Force and Obstruction of Justice

A federal jury in Huntsville, Alabama, convicted HuntsvillePolice Department Officer Brett Russell, 48, of deprivation of rights under color of law for assaulting and injuring G.H., a detainee, as well as obstruction of justice for filing a false police report regarding this incident.

According to the evidence presented at trial, on Dec. 23, 2011, G.H. was detained in the rear of a police vehicle parked in a hotel parking lot.  After initially uttering profanity and kicking a rear window, G.H. sat handcuffed, compliant and nonresisting for approximately 30 minutes.  As officers attempted to remove G.H. from the vehicle to place leg shackles on him, Russell yanked G.H. from the vehicle.  While G.H. was lying handcuffed on the ground, the defendant repeatedly punched and kneed G.H.  Other officers placed leg shackles on G.H. and Russell then transported G.H. to the Madison County, Alabama, Jail.  When the jail refused to accept G.H. because of his injuries, Russell transported G.H.to the Huntsville Hospital.  Russell subsequently wrote and submitted a false report claiming that G.H. tried to kick and head butt the officers.  Further, Russell omitted from the false report any reference to the fact that he had used force on G.H.

Russell faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the civil rights charge and a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years for the obstruction charge.  Sentencing has yet to be scheduled, but will occur before U.S. District Court Judge Abdul K. Kallon in the Northern District of Alabama.

“The criminal behavior of this officer undermines the dedicated efforts of the vast majority of officers who serve honorably,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “The Justice Department is committed to holding officers who engage in such criminal acts accountable.”

“Most police officers honor their oaths, day in and day out, to uphold the law and protect the public, but this defendant disgraced his badge and used excessive force against a man in handcuffs,” said U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance of the Northern District of Alabama.  "This verdict reflects that abusing the authority of a police badge is a serious crime and it will be punished accordingly.  My office remains committed to aggressive civil rights enforcement, and I thank the FBI for its dedication to investigating and compiling evidence in these type of cases. "

This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Florence Resident Agency.  It is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Carroll McCabe of the Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Fortune and Xavier O. Carter Sr. of the Northern District of Alabama.

Federal Judge Hands Down 33-Year and 15-Year Prison Sentences for Carjacking

HUNTSVILLE—A federal judge today sentenced two men to prison for a May 2011 carjacking in Huntsville, U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and FBI Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Maley announced.

U.S. District Judge Karon O. Bowdre sentenced Cameron Rashun Byrd, 19, of Birmingham, to 33 years and three months in prison; and Ernest Lashawn Starks, of Huntsville, to 15 years in prison for the armed carjacking in the parking lot of Liquor Express on Huntsville’s University Drive.

A federal jury in January convicted the two men of carjacking. The jury also convicted Starks of brandishing a gun during a crime of violence and convicted Byrd on separate counts of brandishing and carrying a firearm.

Evidence presented at trial established that Starks and Byrd carjacked a victim’s vehicle from the Liquor Express lot on May 11, 2011. Byrd forced the victim to drive the vehicle away while holding a gun to his head from the backseat. Byrd and Starks threatened the life of the victim while brandishing firearms. On the same evening, Starks drove Byrd and others in a different vehicle to the Victory Food Mart on Pulaski Pike in Huntsville, where Byrd used the handgun to commit a robbery by holding the gun to the cashier’s head while he emptied the register.

Thomas Omar Flowers, 19, of Brundidge, who also participated in the carjacking and the Food Mart robbery, pleaded guilty in January before U.S. District Judge C. Lynwood Smith, Jr. All three defendants were arrested on the night of the carjacking and robbery.

The FBI and the Huntsville Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Terence M. O’Rourke and Russell E. Penfield prosecuted the case.

Third Man Charged in String of North Alabama Bank Robberies Pleads Guilty

BIRMINGHAM—A Huntsville man pleaded guilty today to three 2010 bank robberies in North Alabama, including one in which more than $93,000 was stolen, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and FBI Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Maley.

Tavares Antwan Oliver, 35, entered his pleas before U.S. District Judge Karon O. Bowdre to two counts of armed bank robbery, two counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and one count of bank robbery. Oliver admitted to robbing CB&S Bank on University Drive in Huntsville on September 29, 2010; Bancorp South on Hughes Road in Madison on October 25, 2010; and to brandishing a firearm during both of those robberies. He also admitted to robbing Peoples Bank on Beltline Road in Decatur on December 8, 2010.

Oliver faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 32 years for brandishing a firearm during the bank robberies. This sentence is in addition to any sentence he will receive for the bank robberies themselves. His sentencing is scheduled August 29 in Huntsville.

Two other men have been convicted and sentenced in connection to the 2010 North Alabama bank robberies.

In March, Judge Bowdre sentenced another Huntsville man, Ronald Lewis Henderson, 26, to six years and three months in prison for the armed robberies at CB&S Bank and Peoples Bank. Henderson pleaded guilty to the charges in December. In Henderson’s plea agreement with the government, he admitted he and Oliver entered the CB&S bank wearing disguises and took $93,000 at gunpoint from the bank. Henderson also admitted entering the Peoples Bank with Oliver and demanding a teller put money in a plastic bag. Decatur Police saw the men leaving the bank and both were arrested after fleeing police.

U.S. District Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn in December sentenced Anthony Shawn Clark, Jr., 23, of Madison, to four years and 10 months in prison for the 2010 robbery of Bancorp South in Madison. Clark pleaded guilty to the charge in May 2011. In his plea agreement, Clark admitted that he and Oliver entered the bank wearing disguises and that Oliver brandished a gun and Clark ordered a teller to put money in a backpack Clark was carrying. The men saw Madison Police approaching the bank and fled. Both were arrested shortly thereafter.

The FBI, along with Decatur, Madison, and Huntsville Police Departments, investigated the bank robberies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Stuart Burrell prosecuted the cases.

Third Man Indicted in String of 2010 North Alabama Bank Robberies

BIRMINGHAM—A federal grand jury today indicted a Huntsville man for robberies at three North Alabama banks in 2010, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and FBI Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Maley.

A five-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges TAVARES ANTWAN OLIVER, 35, with the armed bank robberies of CB&S Bank on University Drive in Huntsville on September 29, 2010 and of Bancorp South on Hughes Road in Madison on October 25, 2010. The indictment charges Oliver with brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence in each of those robberies. More than $93,000 was taken in the CB&S robbery. The indictment also charges Oliver with bank robbery at Peoples Bank on Beltline Road in Decatur on December 8, 2010.

Two other men have been convicted and sentenced in connection to the 2010 North Alabama bank robberies.

U.S. District Judge Karon O. Bowdre on Tuesday sentenced RONALD LEWIS HENDERSON, 26, also of Huntsville, to six years and three months in prison for the armed robbery at CB&S Bank in September 2010 and the robbery of Peoples Bank in December 2010. Henderson pleaded guilty to the charges in December. In his plea agreement with the government, Henderson admitted that he and Oliver entered the CB&S bank wearing disguises and that, at gunpoint, they stole $93,000 from the bank. Henderson also admitted entering the Peoples Bank with Oliver and demanding a teller put money in a plastic bag. Decatur Police saw the men leaving the bank and both were arrested after fleeing police.

U.S. District Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn in December sentenced ANTHONY SHAWN CLARK JR., 23, of Madison, to four years and 10 months in prison for the 2010 robbery of Bancorp South in Madison. Clark pleaded guilty to the charge in May. In his plea agreement, Clark admitted that he and Oliver entered the bank wearing disguises, Oliver brandished a gun, and Clark ordered a teller to put money in a backpack Clark was carrying. The men saw Madison Police approaching the bank and fled. Both were arrested shortly thereafter.

The maximum sentence for armed bank robbery is 25 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The sentence for brandishing a gun during a crime of violence carries a minimum mandatory sentence of seven years in prison, which must be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed for the crime. The maximum sentence for bank robbery is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The FBI, along with Decatur, Madison and Huntsville police, investigated the bank robberies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Stuart Burrell is prosecuting the cases.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.