Police: Bodies were of porn suspects - and more Chattanooga region news

Friday, October 4, 2013

Police: Bodies were of porn suspects

DOUBLE SPRINGS, ALA. - Sheriff's officials say two of four people who were found dead in a vehicle on a secluded road in northern Alabama were facing child pornography and molestation charges in Tennessee.

Winston County Sheriff Rick Harris said two people found fatally shot in a vehicle Wednesday night near Double Springs had court dates in Tennessee the day their bodies were discovered.

Authorities said the car containing the bodies was parked in the William B. Bankhead National Forest. The area is about 60 miles northwest of Birmingham.

Harris said the victims - three men and a woman - were from Tennessee and their identities have not yet been released.

The victims' bodies were found in a white car with out- of-state plates, and authorities say a passer-by noticed the vehicle near County Road 327 on her way to work. The woman called police when she noticed the car parked in the same place on her way home.

Throughout the day, Harris stressed that authorities believed the discovery of the bodies was an isolated incident.


Four arrested after rifle found

ATLANTA - Sheriff's officials said four people have been arrested after a stolen semiautomatic rifle was found in their car during a traffic stop.

Bibb County Sheriff David Davis told the Telegraph of Macon that one of the 17 semiautomatic rifles stolen from a Bass Pro Shop on Sunday was recovered in Atlanta on Tuesday night.

Authorities said they found one of the stolen AR-15 rifles, a bag of methamphetamine and marijuana inside the car.

Investigators said 20-year-old Phillip Kemp and 22-year-old Trayvis Gray are charged with possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and theft. Eric Stewart, 24, and 20-year-old Tonishia Lee also are charged with theft.

Officials are unsure whether they were involved in the burglary.


300 children eye new world record

ATLANTA - At least 300 Atlanta children are hoping they broke a world record Thursday for the largest number of people to read the same book on the same day.

Participants visited the Atlanta Children's Museum in downtown Atlanta to read "Otis" by Loren Long.

The group reading activity was part of Jumpstart's national Read for the Record campaign, which focuses on mobilizing Americans to press for quality early education programs.


Bentley outraising GOP opponent

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Gov. Robert Bentley is raising more than $1,200 in campaign donations for every $1 received by his Republican primary opponent.

Bentley filed a campaign finance report Wednesday showing he has received nearly $2 million since fundraising began in June. His opponent, former Morgan County Commissioner Stacy Lee George, reported raising $1,575. After expenditures, George had $45 left. Bentley had nearly $1.9 million remaining. The two meet in the Republican primary on June 3.

Bentley doesn't have a Democratic opponent so far in his campaign for a second term.