MOBILE, AL. The Mobile Police Department has received multiple reports of skimmers found on credit/debit card machines at 6 Family Dollar stores and 1 Dollar Tree store since Friday, December 19, 2025.
These devices are designed to steal sensitive financial information without a person’s knowledge or consent.
Consumers should inspect card readers for tampering and report any suspicious devices or transactions immediately to their local law enforcement agency.
The Mobile Police Department has received complaints at the following locations:
Family Dollar
653 Stanton Road
408 N. Broad Street
4726 Moffett Road
2755 Pleasant Valley Road
1354 Navco Road
316 S. University Boulevard
Dollar Tree
410 Bel Air Boulevard
Similar incidents have been reported in other jurisdictions in recent days. We urge shoppers to stay vigilant this holiday season.
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FAIRHOPE, Ala. Suicides often spike between Thanksgiving and New Year’s as many suffer from chronic depression, drug addiction and the holiday blues. But nationwide, in the United States, suicide rates have generally been increasing over the long term since 2000, reaching a record number of deaths in 2023. And here along the Gulf Coast, including Baldwin County, that fact is unfortunately true.
Over 49,000 people died by suicide nationwide in 2023.
Annually, Baldwin County first responders respond to dozens of suicide threats, attempts and suicides themselves. They’re not talked about, they don’t get reported in the media and even local authorities and local leaders don’t bring the issue to light within their community. Some say it should remain private and hidden from view but mental health professionals say that’s the worst thing that you can.
Educate, support and community is an important aspect of suicide prevention Larry Dawes, a mental health practitioner in Georgia.
In recent weeks, we reported the news of several suicides that have occurred in Baldwin County including several murder-suicides.
Data from the Baldwin County Coroner’s office shows an increase in suicides in Fairhope from six last year to 11 in the first nine months of 2025. Neighboring Silverhill also saw an increase from one last year to four in the first nine months of this year.
Alabama ranks among the worst states in the nation for mental health care access. According to Mental Health America, Alabama ranks 49th due to higher prevalence of mental illness and lower access to care.
While mental health resources do exist in our community, they are limited and often unavailable to people with no healthcare or financial means to pay for care. Though some programs do offer sliding scale payments or in some cases, no cost assistance,
When a person calls 911 threatening to commit suicide, in most areas, including Baldwin County, the local fire department (paid and volunteers), an ambulance and local law enforcement are dispatched to the location. Responders only enter a residence or business after law enforcement has arrived and ensure that the scene is safe for the other responders. Only a small number of emergency responders have mental health training or certification and in most cases, the person is transported to an area hospital for an evaluation.
As Baldwin County and the entire Gulf Coast region continues to grow, so does the need for more resources for it’s residents.
Anyone can call the suicide line anonymously at 988 or contact 911.
MOBILE, Ala. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and its state troopers delivered some holiday cheer recently at a local children’s hospital.
The troopers stopped by and delivered some Trooper Teddy Bears to children receiving care at the hospital and put smiles on many of their faces.
The Trooper Teddy Bear program is a longstanding initiative supported by the Alabama State Trooper Association. Every state trooper on the road is equipped with a teddy bear to offer comfort to children who have experienced or witnessed traumatic events, including automobile accidents.
Troopers also make it a priority to spread the holiday cheer to the children during the Christmas season. The effort underscores ALEA’s commitment to kindness, reassurance and community presence, particularly during times when children and families may be facing added emotional stress.
The troopers who participated were from the Mobile and Grove Hill districts.
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MONTGOMERY, Ala. Attorney General Steve Marshall today joined a coalition of 50 attorneys general announcing a $149,673,750 settlement with Mercedes-Benz USA and Mercedes-Benz Group AG for violating state laws prohibiting unfair or deceptive trade practices by marketing, selling and leasing vehicles equipped with illegal and undisclosed emissions defeat devices designed to circumvent emissions standards. The settlement also includes more than $200 million in potential consumer relief. In Alabama, the state has identified approximately 11,906 vehicles that have been sold or registered. Alabama will receive $4,934,299 through today’s settlement.
Beginning in 2008 and continuing to 2016, the states allege Mercedes manufactured, marketed, advertised, and distributed nationwide more than 211,000 diesel passenger cars and vans equipped with software defeat devices that optimized emission controls during emissions tests, while reducing those controls outside of normal operations. The defeat devices enabled vehicles to far exceed legal limits of nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions, a harmful pollutant that causes respiratory illness and contributes to the formation of smog. Mercedes engaged in this conduct to achieve design and performance goals, such as increased fuel efficiency and reduced maintenance, that it was unable to meet while complying with applicable emission standards. Mercedes concealed the existence of these defeat devices from state and federal regulators and the public. At the same time, Mercedes marketed the vehicles to consumers as “environmentally-friendly” and in compliance with applicable emissions regulations.
“This settlement sends a clear message to consumers: they deserve honesty, and deceptive marketing won’t be tolerated,” stated Attorney General Steve Marshall.
Today’s settlement requires Mercedes-Benz USA and Mercedes-Benz Group AG to pay $120 million to the states upon the effective date of the settlement. An additional $29,673,750 will be suspended and potentially waived pending completion of a comprehensive consumer relief program.
The consumer relief program extends to the estimated 39,565 vehicles that had not been repaired or permanently removed from the road in the United States by August 1, 2023. Mercedes must bear the cost of installing approved emission modification software on each of the affected vehicles. The companies must provide participating consumers with an extended warranty and will pay consumers $2,000 per subject vehicle.
The companies must also comply with reporting requirements, reform their practices, and refrain from including a prohibition on any further unfair or deceptive marketing or sale of diesel vehicles, including misrepresentations regarding emissions and compliance.
Today’s settlement follows similar settlements reached previously between the states and Volkswagen, Fiat Chrysler and German engineering company Robert Bosch GmbH over its development of the cheat software. Automaker Fiat Chrysler and its subsidiaries paid $72.5 million to the states in 2019. Bosch paid $98.7 million in 2019. Volkswagen reached a $570 million settlement with the states in 2016.
The attorneys general of Connecticut, Delaware, and Maryland led the multistate investigation and settlement, and were assisted by Alabama, Georgia, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, and Texas. The final settlement was also joined by Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and Puerto Rico.
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MOBILE, AL. Card scammers have been active in the Mobile area according to a recent alert from the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office.
These skimmers are at local businesses, and they capture your credit card or debit card numbers and then either duplicate your card or use the information to make online purchases.
“While finishing up your last-minute Christmas shopping, please take extra precautions when checking out,” the post said, noting they and the City of Mobile have received numerous complaints of skimmers being found on debit and credit card machines around the county.
The sheriff’s office says to take a close look at the machine before using it, and not to put your card anywhere near the device if anything looks off. Anything that looks suspicious should be reported to the business.
Businesses that find skimmers should call the MCSO at 251-574-8633.
“We are currently working with our federal partners to identify and apprehend the suspects,” according to MCSO.
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According to USGS, Alabama was rattled by an earthquake during the overnight hours. A relatively weak earthquake rated as a magnitude 2.1 event struck near Tuscaloosa in the west central part of the state. The earthquake rattled the area at 1:53 am today and the earthquake’s epicenter had a depth of 4.2 km.
Earthquakes with a magnitude of 2.0 or less are rarely felt or heard by people, according to USGS, but once they exceed 2.0 more and more people can feel them. While damage is possible with magnitude 3.0 events or greater, significant damage and casualties usually don’t occur until the magnitude of a seismic event rises to a 5.5 or greater rated event.
Authorities in the area did not report any damage.
Earthquakes are not uncommon in Alabama. This map shows epicenters of historical Alabama earthquakes since 1886 and surface and basement faults. Image: Geological Survey of Alabama
According to the Geological Survey of Alabama (GSA), earthquakes aren’t completely rare in the state. According to GSA, “Most of the earthquakes we experience in Alabama are associated with the Southern Appalachian Seismic Zone (an extension of the East Tennessee Seismic Zone) that runs along the Appalachian Mountains from the northeastern corner into the central part of the state and the Bahamas Fracture Seismic Zone in southern Alabama.
The strongest earthquake to ever hit the state was a magnitude 5.1 event in 1916 in northern Shelby County.
The second and third strongest earthquakes were each rated as a magnitude 4.9 event. One struck in DeKalb County, 10 miles northeast of Fort Payne, on April 29, 2003. The earthquake was widely felt across the northern half of Alabama and Georgia, much of Tennessee, and even portions of Kentucky, North and South Carolina, and Mississippi. The other struck in Escambia County on October 24, 1997; that earthquake was responsible for a berm around a lake to fail, spilling water and fish across a road. Large cracks also developed in sand along a creek not far from the epicenter. Both of those 4.9 magnitude events did some damage, mainly to weaker masonry found in the northern part of the state.
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MOBILE, AL. Mobile police were involved in a pursuit over the weekend that ended with one fatality.
According to MPD, officers on Saturday, December 20, 2025, at around 8 p.m., officers attempted to initiate a traffic stop on Government Street, but the subject led officers on a pursuit.
The vehicle crashed into a tree near the 100 block of Fulton Street.
Mobile Fire-Rescue were called to the scene but the driver was pronounced deceased at the scene. He has been identified as Jason Sims, 52. A female passenger was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital for treatment of her injuries.
This is an ongoing investigation, and no further investigation will be released at this time.
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MAGNOLIA SPRINGS Ala. An overnight fire destroyed the home of several people in Baldwin County.
At approximately 1:50 a.m. Sunday, December 21, 2025, a fire broke out at 15591 CR 9.
Firefighters from Magnolia Springs, Marlow Fire Department, Barnwell Fire, Fairhope Fire and the Summerdale Fire Department were all dispatched to the structure fire.
First arriving fire engine found the residence, a camper/RV, fully ablaze and that a propane tank had exploded.
Law enforcement and WMS were also dispatched.
The structure was destroyed according to fire personnel.
There were no reports of any injuries.
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BALDWIN COUNTY Ala. A two-vehicle crash that involved a motorcycle and a passenger vehicle on Sunday has claimed a life.
The crash occurred on U.S. 90 near the 68-mile marker, approximately six miles east of the Robertsdale city limits at approximately 9:14 a.m. on December 21, 2025.
Dana P. Wetherbee, 62, of Robertsdale, was fatally injured when the 2011 Harley-Davidson Glide Ultra motorcycle he was operating collided head-on with the 2017 Ford F-250 pickup driven by Richard B. Huelsbeck, 67, of Cantonment, Fla. Wetherbee was thrown from the motorcycle and pronounced deceased at the scene.
Multiple fire department, EMS and law enforcement including ALEA troopers responded to the scene.
Troopers with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s (ALEA) Highway Patrol Division continue to investigate
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SEMMES Ala. A multi-vehicle crash involving an on-duty Semmes Police Officer occurred at approximately 10:55 a.m. Thursday, December 18, 2025.
According to ALEA, the crash occurred when the 2009 GMC Sierra driven by Phillip B. Edens, 43, of Chunchula, struck the 2022 Ford Explorer driven by the Officer, Willie J. Law, 42, of Semmes.
After the initial collision, the Ford struck a 2007 Cadillac Escalade driven by Maria M. Qualls, 38, of Wilmer.
Law was injured and transported to Mobile Infirmary in Saraland for treatment. Edens and Qualls were not injured in the crash.
The crash occurred on U.S. 98 near the 10-mile marker, in Mobile County.
Troopers with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s (ALEA) Highway Patrol Division continue to investigate.
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MOBILE, Ala. The Mobile police homicide unit has been working a case involving the death of Marcel Miller, 32, who was found murdered in the 1800 block of Mott Drive South, a vacant lot.
According to detectives, the homicide victim was found on Sunday, November 23, 2025, at approximately 7:38 a.m.
Police officers responded to the call of a body lying in the vacant lot and discovered a male victim deceased from a gunshot wound.
On Wednesday, December 17, 2025, Trayon James, 21, was arrested for Murder and transported to Metro Jail.
If anyone has any information that could assist in the investigation of this case, please contact the Mobile Police Department at 251-208-7211. Alternatively, you can submit an anonymous tip by texting 844-251-0644 or by visiting mobilepd.org/crimetip.
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GRAND BAY, Ala A student attending the Grand Bay Middle School was taken into custody Tuesday evening after Mobile County sheriff investigators were made aware of threats against the school by a person identified as someone who attends the school.
Once notified by school officials, the sheriff’s department immediately began an investigation of the threats against the school including threats of shooting up the school in messages in a group chat. Investigators said the student also posted an image of a handgun with an extended magazine posted in the thread.
It was first believed that there were multiple students involved, and once the investigation progressed, they determined there was one student,” said Mobile County Paul Burch.
Burch says the 14-year-old’s mother allowed investigators to search her Bayou La Batre home and they did not recover any guns. Burch says the student pulled the image of the gun from social media. Just because there wasn’t a gun doesn’t mean there wasn’t a threat, and the consequence is a criminal charge of making a terrorist threat in the second degree, which is a Class A misdemeanor.
“Once they hit that send button, there’s no taking it back. When it’s out there, it’s out there. And you know, especially if you look at what’s going on just this week around the country, and even last week, you know, when we had this attempt to get a pistol into one of the local high schools, those threats have to be taken seriously,” said Burch.
Burch urges parents to talk to their kids about the serious repercussions of making threats and to closely monitor what your kids are doing on their devices and on social media.
“You pay the bill. You have a right to view it, and you should, as a parent, stay on top of your child’s activities on the phone,” said Burch.
The unidentified teen was taken to the Strickland Youth Center.
A spokesperson for Mobile County Public Schools says law enforcement was at the school on Wednesday out of an abundance of caution, and the school operated on its normal schedule.
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MOBILE, Ala. Five members of an interstate drug distribution organization were sentenced in federal court during October and December of 2025.
Richard Wells, III, 48; Ronald Darnell Phillips, 45; and Demetrius James Lutin, 45 were sentenced on October 9, 2025. John David Clarke, 49, was sentenced on December 4, 2025, and Desmon Demond James, 49, was sentenced on December 11, 2025. All five men are from Mobile.
Court documents show that they were indicted as members of a cocaine and heroin trafficking conspiracy that operated from 2016 through April 2025. They entered guilty pleas to the conspiracy charge during the fall of 2024. Phillips, Clarke, and Lutin also pleaded guilty to substantive counts charging possession with intent to distribute cocaine.
Clarke pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and wire fraud in a separately charged case. Clarke further pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession of prison contraband.
James also pled guilty to possession of prison contraband. Clarke was sentenced to 240 months’ imprisonment in both the drug trafficking and fraud cases, with the sentences to run concurrently.
Clarke was ordered to serve a ten-year term of supervised release upon release from prison. Wells was sentenced to 108 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by a 10-year term of supervised release.
Lutin was sentenced to 90 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by a ten-year term of supervised release.
Phillips was sentenced to 37 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by a ten-year term of supervised release.
James was sentenced to 58 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by a five-year term of supervised release.
As conditions of their supervision, all five defendants will undergo testing and treatment for drug and/or alcohol abuse, and each will be subject to a search of his person and premises upon reasonable suspicion. No fine was imposed but the judge ordered that Phillips pay $100 in special assessments; Lutin, and Wells were ordered to pay $200 in special assessments; James was ordered to pay $125 in special assessments; and Clarke was ordered to pay $525 in special assessments and $83,931.70 in restitution to the IRS and Small Business Administration. Judge Moorer further ordered the forfeiture of the property that was seized during the investigation, including cash and numerous weapons.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, United States Customs and Border Protection, the Internal Revenue Service, the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, and the Mobile Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Kopf and Gloria Bedwell prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
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DAPHNE, Ala. A Daphne woman is headed to federal prison after her conviction of wire fraud, mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, and violation of federal supervised release conditions, officials with the United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Alabama, said.
Ramie Renee Freeman, 56, of Daphne, was sentenced to 93 months, or just over seven years, in federal prison.
The case involves fraudulent documents that were submitted to an area car dealership in her attempt to receive financing of a new vehicle.
Those documents included a forged receipt for monthly social security benefits that she was not receiving, and an altered annulment order from the Circuit Court in Knox County, Tenn., that showed monthly alimony payments that also did not exist. By using the fraudulent documents, which were transmitted over the wire by the dealership, Freeman was able to get financing through a company in Texas and bought a car.
Court records also show that Freeman had also represented herself as an attorney and obtained payments for people she represented in uncontested divorces. Freeman is not a licensed lawyer according to law enforcement.
In April, she forged her “clients’” signatures and mailed bogus divorce paperwork with a check drawn off her account to the Baldwin County Courthouse in Bay Minette. That check bounced, prompting a court employee to call Freeman, who lied about being an attorney.
The documents she mailed included people’s names, addresses, dates of birth, and social security numbers, which the victims had not authorized her to send.
In May, federal agents searched Freeman’s apartment in Daphne and found the car she had bought with fraudulent documents, as well as documentation related to Freeman’s fraudulent activity.
When questioned, Freeman, who had already been convicted of fraud, told authorities she had gone back to fraud because, as a convicted felon, she had difficulty finding legitimate work.
Authorities say that while committing these crimes, she was already on supervised probation on other fraud charges. She also had prior federal fraud convictions in New Hampshire from 2009 and 2011, and multiple fraud convictions in several New Hampshire state courts.
In addition to the 93 months in prison, which includes 57 months for her current convictions and 36 months for violating her supervised release, she is also ordered to serve a three-year term of supervised release. The first six months of that supervised release will be served at a halfway house. Additionally, during her supervised release, she will have to submit to drug testing and mental health treatment. She was not fined but was ordered to pay $300 in special assessments and $3,800 in victim restitution.
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FAIRHOPE, Ala. From time to time, manatees, also called “sea cows” make their way further north out of Florida and into the Alabama Gulf Coast region. We’ve seen them in years past in the Mobile Bay, the Theordore Industrial Channel and beyond seeking warmer waters with plentiful food sources.
And once again this year, a manatee was spotted in the area of Fly Creek in Fairhope.
These unique animals are docile and fun to watch but being this far north at this time of year can also pose a problem for these large warm-blooded creatures.
Several have had to be rescued in our area in recent years said Ruth Carmichael, a senior marine scientist at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and professor of marine and environmental sciences at the University of South Alabama.
“They don’t do very well when the water temperatures are below about 68 degrees Fahrenheit. And our water temperatures have recently dropped below that,” Dauphin Island Sea Lab Senior Marine Scientist Ruth Carmichael said. Colder water stresses them and increases the potential for manatees to become stuck and unable to move on.
When the manatee was spotted in the marina on Wednesday, the Dauphin Island Sea Lab was called to come check on the animal.
“The animal does look like it’s in pretty bad shape,” Carmichael said. “We are definitely making it a priority for a rescue if the animal settles down into a single location that would allow that to be possible.”
If someone spots a manatee during this time of year, it’s important to stay your distance and contact authorities. There is a toll free number or someone can also call local law enforcement who will then contact the proper authorities. You can also call the Sea Lab’s Manatee Sighting Network Hotline a call if anyone sees this manatee or any others in the area. The phone number to call is 866-493-5803.
It appears that the manatee at in the Fly Creek area has moved on and didn’t need human intervention.
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UPDATE: The suspect has been identified as Chris James John Allen Carter. He crashed his vehicle into the Blackwater Creek during the pursuit.
ROBERTSDALE, Ala. Police attempting to make a traffic stop for a moving violation found themselves engaging in a pursuit that did not end well for the driver.
Once police activated their emergency equipment, the driver sped off. Several law enforcement agencies chased the suspect who eventually crashed off on County Road 48 at around 12:40 a.m. The vehicle left the roadway and landed into a body of water.
Robertsdale Fire and EMS were dispatched to the scene.
Police searched the area and eventually called the Daphne Search and Rescue to assist in searching the pond.
The suspect was eventually taken into custody at around 3 a.m. Law enforcement said that he already had outstanding warrants and now will face additional charges including attempting to elude law enforcement.
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SPANISH FORT, Ala. A multi-vehicle collision on the Bayway Thursday morning closed I-10 in the Spanish Fort area after one of the vehicles caught fire and spread rapidly, with heavy flames coming from the vehicle.
One driver was injured, complaining of back and neck injuries according to the Spanish Fort Fire Department.
The crash occurred at around 9:50 a.m. and involved a bucket truck and a passenger vehicle. Baldwin County 911 Communications dispatched the Spanish Fort Fire Department/EMS and ALEA to the scene.
The roadway remained completely closed down for almost an hour as firefighters worked to extinguish the vehicle fire, and EMS treated a patient.
ALEA continues to investigate this wreck.
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What started as a shoplifting at a Mobile area store, quickly escalated into an armed robbery, according to police.
The incident occurred on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, at approximately 12:31 p.m.
Mobile police officers were dispatched to the Dollar General, located at 4821 Moffet Road, to investigate a possible robbery in progress.
Upon arrival, employees advised officers that an unknown adult male concealed items on his person while inside the location. Once the employee confronted the subject, the subject produced a handgun and pointed it at the employee, which allowed the subject to leave the scene.
Multiple officers began circulating the area and the subjects were located shortly thereafter and detained without further incident.
At the time of detainment, a controlled substance was removed from the subject’s person.
Carlos Dials, 44, and Jayda Jordan, 56, were transported to Metro Jail.
Dials is now facing charges of Probation Revocation, Theft of Property 4th, Robbery 1st Degree and Possession of a Controlled Substance.
Jordan is facing charges of Robbery 1st and Unlawful Breaking and Entering.
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