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March is Women's History Month!

WVAS Local News

Montgomery police made separate arrests in two killings that occurred within a two hour period over the weekend.  Police say 21-year-old Cordarrius Woodall and 20-year-old Leonard Reese got into an argument at a birthday party about 1:40 a.m. Saturday morning.  Reese pulled a gun and fired it multiple times at Woodall in the 900 block of Boyd Cooper Parkway.  Woodall was pronounced dead at the scene and Reese was charged with his murder.  The Montgomery man is in the county jail with bond set at $75,000 dollars. 

Another homicide occurred on Phillips Street just before midnight Friday.  Officers found 26-year-old Terrance Murphy had been shot several times in a vehicle.  They charged 31-year-old Mario Cobb with capital murder because Murphy was inside a vehicle when he was shot.  Cobb is being held in the Montgomery County Detention Facility without bond. 

Guilty Plea

Federal prosecutors say a 32-year-old Montgomery man pleaded guilty to bank robbery and one count of using firearm during a violent crime.  The U.S. Attorney's office said Darrin Bell walked into a Community Bank and Trust branch on October 5th, pulled a gun from his duffel bag and demanded money from a teller.  Authorities say a teller handed Bell about $15,000 dollars and he fled the scene on a motorcycle.  Bell could face up to 20 years in prison and a fine  for the bank robbery.  No sentencing date was announced.

Homemade Explosives

A high school student in Russell County faces an attempted assault charge after authorities says he planned to use homemade explosives in a terrorist attack on fellow students at his school.  Authorities say 17-year-old Derek Shrout, a student at Russell County High School in Seale, will appear at a court hearing this afternoon.  Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor said a search of Shrout's home found several tobacco cans, all with holes drilled in them and containing pellets.  The sheriff said the devices were just "a step or two away from being ready to explode."

Weekend Accident

Students and teachers in Tallassee are mourning the death of a middle school prinicpal who died in a car crash over the weekend.  Alabama State Troopers say 49-year-old Alan Thompson was killed in a two-vehicle crash Saturday evening at the intersection of Alabama 14 and Cherokee Trail Road.  He was in his first year as principal of Southside Middle School in Tallasseee.  Superintendent Kenneth Varner said Thompson made an impact on the school and on the community even though he'd been in town for a relatively short period of time.  

Tax Refund Cards

The more than one million Alabamians who are likely to get a state tax refund this year now have a new way to get their money back.  State Revenue Commissioner Julie Magee says they can choose to get the refund on a Visa debit card rather than by direct deposit or check.  Magee says the change should reduce the number of checks that are stolen from mail boxes and fraudulently cashed.