David Stroud pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and possession of a weapon after felony conviction. The state recommended house arrest. Sentencing was set for Thursday, March 13, at 10 a.m. In an unrelated incident, Stroud had been charged with kidnapping, rape and robbery. Those charges were dismissed by the court in 2024.

Carl Heard also pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance. The state noted that he is currently in treatment for addiction and recommended house arrest. His sentencing is also set for March 13 at 10 a.m.

A motion to suppress (evidence) was filed in the case of Johnny Alexander. Officers responding to a burglary call in July 2023 found Alexander, a convicted felon, walking down the street near the area of the call with a backpack. He was stopped and found to be in possession of a shotgun shell in his pocket. This led the officer to conduct an additional search with the K-9 unit, which is trained to alert on positive findings of drugs. The dog alerted on the backpack. The backpack was searched and a sawed-off shotgun located inside, as well as a syringe and blue t-shirt matching the description of a burglar caught on video. Lane Campbell, attorney for the defendant, moved to strike the findings in the backpack, alleging that it was an unlawful search. The defendant and state reached an agreement in which Alexander pleaded guilty to burglary, non-residential. He was sentenced to seven years to serve, along with court costs and fines.

On Monday, March 4, Lena Bell was given a five-year suspended sentence, ordered to pay new court costs and fines and pay restitution related to her conviction in 2019 of exploitation of a vulnerable person. A representative from the Attorney General’s Office, Mike Ward, stated that, as a condition of her probation, Bell was to remain in contact with the AG’s office. It was recently discovered that the phone numbers Bell had provided were not working. According to the AG’s office, Bell was accused of taking almost $40,000 from a vulnerable person and ordered to pay restitution, which she has not done. The victim is now deceased and Bell was ordered to pay restitution to the state’s Victim Assistance Fund.