MOBILE COUNTY, Ala. The ICAC Unit received a Cyber Tip from The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The investigation led to Terrence Kaleb Handy-Jones of Chickasaw.
On March 3, 2026, the ICAC Unit along with Special Operations, executed a search warrant at his residence.
Jones was arrested and charged with 5 counts of Unlawful Possession of Child Pornography and 5 counts of Possession with Intent to Distribute Child Pornography.
ICAC is a national network of 61 coordinated task forces, representing over 5,400 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. These agencies are dedicated to investigating, prosecuting and developing effective responses to internet crimes against children. Educating the public through the development and delivery of public awareness and prevention programs is also one of the main important initiatives of the ICAC Task Force Program
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ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Ala. The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office in Alabama said that they were called to an area off the McGowan Bridge on Highway 29, where a person had been shot.
The unidentified person was on a sandbar when the shooting occurred.
Deputies stated that the incident occurred around 5:15 p.m. on a Sunday evening and that a man was struck in the head by a gunshot fired into the water off the bridge.
The sheriff’s department said that occupants of a vehicle fired numerous gunshots off the bridge into the water.
The sheriff’s department has not reported the condition of the person shot.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is currently seeking information from the public regarding the incident. If you have any information, you are encouraged to contact the sheriff’s office at 251-809-0741.
We will provide more information as it becomes available.
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MOBILE, Ala. If you are or were a State Farm Insurance customer, you may be receiving some unexpected cash in your bank account soon.
State Farm is splitting some dividends to its customers sometime this summer.
Eligible State Farm auto policyholders in Alabama will receive an average rebate of $114 following the company’s approval of a nationwide dividend payout.
However, not all customers will be eligible, said State Farm Representatives.
The dividend is available to customers with a policy in place as of December 31, 2025, and will be distributed during summer.
The State Farm Board of Directors authorized the dividend to holders of private passenger auto (PPA) voluntary preferred policies. The total dividend share adds up to $135 million in Alabama.
“The special dividend is welcome relief to Alabama drivers at a time when families are watching their wallets closely,” said Alabama Department of Insurance commissioner Mark Fowler. “We appreciate State Farm’s commitment to lowering costs for their customers.”
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MOBILE, AL. We reported this crash early Friday but now ALEA has provided more details including the names of two people who were fatally injured in this wreck.
A head-on collision involving a GMC Acadia and a Freightliner tractor trailer about 1:36 a.m. about 6 miles west of Semmes on Alabama 158 near Wilmer-Georgetown Road in Mobile County has left to people from Mississippi deceased.
Troopers said 57-year-old Daphne D. Peters of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, was pronounced dead at the scene. Her passenger, Dexter P. Magee, 58, of Collins, Mississippi, was ejected from the vehicle and authorities said that he was also pronounced dead at the scene. According to ALEA, Magee was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.
The wreck shut down the roadway for hours while several tow trucks recovered the vehicles and tropers conducted their investigation.
After the initial crash, the Freightliner semitractor-trailer, driven by a 36-year-old Vicksburg, Mississippi, man, was hit by a Volvo semitractor-trailer driven by a 46-year-old man from Haines, Florida, according to troopers. Both were taken to USA Health University Hospital in Mobile, according to ALEA, but their injuries were not known.
ALEA said that they are still investigating the cause of the crash.
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TRUSVILLE, Ala. The National Weather Service has confirmed that a tornado hit a city just northeast of Birmingham on Thursday.
The National Weather Service surveyed the area and has now confirmed that an EF0 tornado moved along Highway 11 and Mary Taylor Road and traveled southeast, ending along Queenstown Road causing some damage.
Authorities said that some trees were knocked down, and some structures were damaged. Construction and flatbed trailers were also seen flipped over.
The NWS also confirmed that straight-line winds of up to 75 mph caused damage in the Pinson area.
Officials said that a microburst downed trees and power lines there.
There were no reports of any injuries.
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DAPHNE, Ala. On Tuesday, we received an update firsthand on the progress of the Daphne Amphitheater that is currently under construction.
We’ve been told that the work has been going on for months and that has primarily involved removing trees and moving dirt, including lowering some areas and leveling off others.
During our time on site, we saw a lot of heavy equipment at work, digging and moving dirt into large piles. We saw that the construction went all the way to the back of the Moe’s Barbecue Restaurant property line on Bayfront Park Dr.
Daphne Mayor Robin LeJeune said last year that the expected that the cost of the project would be $13.5 million and that the targeted opening would be in the spring of 2027.
Workers have a long way to go, but things are moving right along.
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BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. A Baldwin County jury has found a local man guilty in a recent drug trafficking case.
42-year-old James Pressley, who had been previously arrested by police for selling drugs was convicted of trafficking methamphetamines following a two-day jury trial.
According to officials with the Baldwin County District Attorney’s Office, Pressley had been the subject of a joint investigation into drugs being trafficked in our area.
“This case is the result of proactive policing and outstanding collaboration between the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Drug Task Force and Special Operations Unit, who worked together to stop Pressley from bringing nearly three ounces of methamphetamine into Baldwin County from Florida before it could reach our communities,” the release said.
The jury took less than an hour to come back with the guilty verdict.
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ELBERTA, Ala. An urgent call to the Baldwin County 911 Communications Center on Thursday morning at around 6 a.m. sent fire departments to a house fire in Elberta.
The fire was reported at 24355 Pilgrim Road and the caller stated that someone was possibly still trapped inside the residence.
The Elberta, Lillian, Perdido Beach and Summerdale Fire Departments, along with EMS and the sheriff’s office, were immediately dispatched and it was determined that no one was trapped inside the home.
Because of a lack of fire hydrants in the area, additional fire departments, including Foley, Josephine and Bon Secour were dispatched, and tankers were brought in to set up a water relay to assist in the firefighting efforts.
Roads in the area were blocked according to law enforcement.
At this time there are no injuries reported.
The cause of the fire is unknown.
Copyright 2026 Blue RAM Media. All rights reserved.
DAPHNE, Ala. The Daphne Police Department has released their most recent arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol or illegal narcotics.
Officers on patrol stopped a vehicle operated by William Ross Beech on January 9th, 2026, at around 11:20 p.m. on Secretariat Boulevard and during the interaction officers determined that Beech was impaired. Beech was arrested and booked into the city jail.
A traffic stop of a vehicle operated by Mario Rene Gonzalo Pop Xol on January 10, 2026, at around 1:15 a.m. also resulted in the arrest of the driver for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol. Police took the driver into custody at Ridgewood Dr. near Buena Vista Dr.
A short time after the arrest, police stopped a vehicle for committing a traffic offense in the 2000 block of State Highway 181 at around 2 a.m. During the officer’s interaction with the driver who was later identified as Zachry Scott McEvoy, police determined that he was impaired McEvoy was charged with Driving Under the Influence and booked into the city jail.
A police officer patrolling US Highway 98 near the Arbors by the Bay Apartments conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Neil Dantzler Kinsaul at around 2:20 a.m. on January 10, 2026. During the traffic stop, officers conducted a DUI investigation and determined that Kinsaul was driving impaired and he has been arrested and charged with Driving Under the Influence – Alcohol and was booked into the Daphne City Jail and later released on bond.
Christopher Joseph Pacheco was also charged with Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol on January 10, 2026, at around 10:50 p.m. after a traffic stop in the area of US Hwy XX and Whispering Pines Rd.
On the following day, Sunday, January 11th, 2026, at around 1:30 a.m., a Daphne police officer observed a driver commit a traffic infraction and conducted a traffic stop on the driver, later identified as Noel Chris Cardona at N. Main St. @ Jackson Street. The officer determined that Cardona was impaired and he has been charged with Driving Under the Influence – Alcohol.
Police also charged Jordan DeAndre Powell with Possession of Marijuana Second Degree on January 11, 2026, at around 10:20 p.m. at N. Main St. and Eisenhower Way.
All persons arrested were later released and are scheduled to appear in court. Each person arrested are considered to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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FAIRHOPE, Ala. A Fairhope man previously arrested for drug trafficking has been sentenced to federal prison for more than eleven years.
U.S. District Judge Terry F. Moorer sentenced Christopher Lynn Barnwell to serve nine years for trafficking methamphetamine and fentanyl, and for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama announced in a news release.
Law enforcement working with informants, were able to secure a search warrant for Barnwell’ s residence in Fairhope on January 22, 2024, where they confiscated 188.6 grams of 96% pure meth and 18.46 grams of fentanyl from a safe, court documents revealed. Agents also found a Ruger 9mm pistol in an air vent.
The court documents also stated that Barnwell took agents to a shed, where they found drug paraphernalia and a substance called mannitol, which is commonly used to cut drug.
Agents also seized Barnwell’s cellphone and found texts related to drug deals, as well as photos and videos of meth, cash and drug paraphernalia, the records showed.
Barnwell will also have to serve a consecutive sentence of 30 months for violating his supervised release according to court documents. He will then spend 10 years on supervised release upon leaving prison.
The Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case.
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BALDWIN COUNTY Ala. The following people have been arrested in Baldwin County during the past week on drug related charges. Agencies making the arrests included the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, Orange Beach Police, Fairhope Police and others.
Misdemeanor drug charges are also often processed into local jails in Robertsdale, Fairhope, Daphne, and several other jurisdictions.
MARK ANTHONY AUGUSTINE, 51 Arrest Date:01/08/2026 07:28 Possession of Marijuana 2nd
MARTEL NICHOLAS BATEN 42 01/10/2026 Possession of Marijuana 2nd Tampering with Physical Evidence Possession of Imitation Drugs
WILLIAM ANTHONY BROWN 39 Arrest Date: 01/10/2026 23:25 Possession with Intent to Distribute
FRANCES DENISE CARR 69 Possession Of Dangerous Drugs Drug Paraphernalia-1st Offense Violation of Release Order Bond: $10,500.00
KEYANNA MONAE CHANEY 25 Possession of Marijuana 2nd
SEAN M FRANDUTO 42 Possession with Intent to Distribute Driving Under the Influence (Alcohol)
CALEB J GRAY 31 Possession of Marijuana 2nd Driving Under the Influence (Combined Substance) Bond: $2000
JESSICA LYNN HARRIS 41 FAIRHOPE POLICE DEPT Methamphetamine-Possess Possession Of Dangerous Drugs Drug Paraphernalia-1st Offense Bond: $10,500.00
LEWIS JOSEPH JACKSON 30 Drug Trafficking Tampering with Physical Evidence Total Bond: $75,500.00
BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. An Etowah County man is in custody in Baldwin County after an arrest warrant was served on him on Thursday, January 8, 2026.
The Etowah County Sheriff’s Office, in coordination with the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, arrested James Eric Sitz, 50 for was electronic solicitation of a child.
Sitz is accused of communicating sexually with an online fourteen-year-old who was actually an investigator with the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff investigators said that the contact occurred in August of 2025 which began the investigation.
Authorities also say Sitz was linked to a different undercover investigation by a law enforcement officer in West Virginia.
Sheriff Horton said during a post-arrest interview, Sitz admitted to engaging in inappropriate online communications with the undercover persona. Horton said multiple electronic devices were also seized that possibly contained child sexual abuse material depicting young teenage girls.
“This arrest is the result of a proactive, long-term investigation and strong cooperation between local, state, and federal partners,” Sheriff Jonathon Horton said. “Protecting our children is a top priority, and we remain committed to identifying and holding accountable anyone who seeks to exploit them.”
Other law enforcement agencies are also involved and more charges are possible.
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MOBILE, AL. During the early part of Monday morning, heavy smoke could be seen coming from the Mobile River area near the Cochrane-Africatown Bridge. On closer inspection, we saw that a barge was on fire and that the Mobile-Fire Rescue boat was on scene and beginning to fight the fire, soon followed by several other agencies including the United States Coast Guard.
From nearby cameras we could see that the barge soon became engulfed in flames and the at around 1:17 p.m., the Coast Guard advised that the Mobile shipping channel was closed to all traffic from mile marker 2 to mile marker 4 because of the fire.
Police and EMS were also dispatched to the area and stood by on land.
The barge which was carrying scrapped vehicles continued to burn bright into the night.
The U.S. Coast Guard set up a safety zone to ensure that no entered the area of the barge fire.
The USCG said that they did not have a cause of the fire that they would be investigating it.
Some toxic smoke was seen near parts of Mobile but there were no reports of injuries or sickness on water or on land.
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ATLANTA, Ga. The number of measle cases in America continues to rise with more than 2000 known cases reported nationwide in 2025, the most reported in almost thirty years.
Some medical professionals believe that there is more anti-trust of the government since the COVID-19 Pandemic with misinformation about masks and vaccinations. Another concern is that many religious bodies have been preaching against trusting immunizations for themselves or their children, even keeping kids home when schools require them.
Outbreaks in 2025 were well recorded in South Caroliana, along the border between Arizona and Utah and some areas of the heartland. Dozens of measle cases are being recorded weekly threatening the measles elimination status that the US has held for a quarter-century.
As of December 30, 2025, there have been 2,065 confirmed measles cases in the US in 2025, according to data published Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The last time there were more than 2,000 cases reported in one year was in 1992, just a couple years after health leaders updated recommendations to say that children should get two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine instead of just one.
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known, but the MMR vaccine offers highly effective protection. One dose is 93% effective against measles infection, and two doses are 97% effective, according to the CDC.
However, vaccination rates have been falling for years. For the 2024-25 school year, just 92.5% of incoming kindergarteners had received the MMR vaccine, CDC data shows – below the 95% threshold that public health experts say is necessary to prevent outbreaks.
Parents in the South and Midwest have chosen to home school their children rather than vaccinate them but doctors say this doesn’t protect the children because they’re out in public shopping, playing with other children and in church exposing them to potential measles.
In early October, the South Carolina health department confirmed that there was a measles outbreak in the upstate region. That outbreak has spread to nearly 180 cases over the past four months and continues to grow; at least 20 new cases have been reported since Friday, and nearly 300 people are in quarantine because of exposure to a known case.
An outbreak on the Utah-Arizona line also continues to grow, with more than 350 cases reported between the two states in 2025.
Measles have been considered eliminated in the US since 2000, meaning no outbreaks or other chains of transmission have lasted longer than a year. But multiple large outbreaks in 2025 may be connected, which puts the elimination status on the line if cases continue to grow through late January.
An outbreak centered in West Texas that started in late January was declared over in mid-August. There were hundreds of related cases across Texas and New Mexico, and three unvaccinated people died: two children and one adult.
In 2025, measles were reported by 45 jurisdictions: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. A total of 25 measles cases were reported among international visitors to the United States.
The number of deaths from the measle outbreaks are still being calculated.
In November, the Pan American Health Organization, part of the World Health Organization, determined that Canada had lost its measles elimination status amid a large ongoing outbreak there.
“It’s important to say that all the other 34 countries in the region, they keep their certification as measles-free,” PAHO Director Dr. Jarbas Barbosa said at the time.
What 2026 will bring is unclear as the government can’t force anyone to be inoculated against and disease or illness.
The trajectory that we’re looking at now is that we do anticipate more cases well into January. What that means for us nationally in terms of how they are defining our designation in this country as having eliminated measles is unclear.”
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LITTLE RIVER Ala. Firefighters say that the fire burned hot and fast and took the life of a Little River community man in the early morning hours of Tuesday, January 2nd, 2026.
The home of 61-year-old Terry Cumbie just off Sawmill Road is all but destroyed. Scattered about are pieces of charred wood and metal remnants of the place that Cumbie had called home.
Baldwin County 911 Communications immediately dispatched multiple fire departments after a neighbor woke up and spotted the flames, but when volunteer firefighters arrived from the Little River Fire Department, the fire had already engulfed the structure.
Several hours later and with much of the structure gone, firefighters sifted through the rumble and recovered the body of Cumbie.
An autopsy was performed and found no signs of foul play.
There were no other reports of injuries on scene, and a state fire marshal’s investigation could not determine how the fire started but concluded that it was likely accidental.
Locals stated that Cumbie lived in the area all of his life.
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DAPHNE, Ala. The mayor of Daphne says that they have worked out the details for a new boutique hotel to be built in the Old Towne area of the city.
A new $30 million boutique hotel is coming soon to Olde Towne Daphne. City leaders say that it won’t cost local taxpayers a dime.
The Fortuna Hotel will be designed to match the historic charm many love about Olde Towne.
“We’re not talking about just a regular hotel motel type of thing,” Daphne’s Mayor Robin LeJeune said. “This is really something that we can be proud of; this $30 million project is really going to show off what Daphne and Olde Towne can do.”
There have been discussions since last year regarding the project which could also bring other shops and restaurants to the area.
City leaders explained that the goal of this new boutique hotel is to bring more visitors to support local businesses.
“This adds to that and really helps promote our restaurants, our retail stores,” Lejeune said. “And it brings a group of people, a brand-new group of people that might stay on the interstate, might go down to Fairhope and stay. Now they’re going to stay in Daphne. They’re going to spend dollars in Daphne.”
Some city residents however expressed concern about the continual growth, traffic and how the hotel and other commercial business will take aware from the Old Towne feel and look whiles others have said that they are excited about the project.
City leaders hope to begin construction by next summer, with the boutique hotel expected to open around 2029.
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FOLEY, Ala. Foley police officers conducting a traffic stop for a moving violation have arrested a man found to be in possession of approximately 11 ounces of liquid methamphetamine.
On Tuesday, January 6, 2026, at around 8:45 p.m., Lewis Joseph Jackson, age 30 of Robertsdale, was stopped for the infraction and as officers interacted with Jackson, it was determined that he was illegally in possession of a controlled substance.
Jackson was arrested and charged with drug trafficking (methamphetamine) and tampering with physical evidence after he attempted to conceal and tamper with the recovered contraband.
Jackson has been booked into Baldwin County Corrections on felony charges and is being held on a $750,500 bond.
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MOBILE, AL. A woman armed with a knife attempted to carjack a female driver as she entered the parking lot of a business.
Mobile police responded to the emergency call at 3351 Springhill Avenue (Energizer Service Station) on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, at approximately 5:57 a.m.
The armed woman grabbed for the vehicle keys, but the driver fought back and eventually was able to flee inside the business.
Other Mobile police officers circulated in the area and was able to apprehend Tyese Winston, 35 and arrested her for felony, Robbery in the First Degree.
She was transported to the Mobile jail where is currently being held.
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