Friends disagree; man's throat cut
RAINSVILLE, Ala. -- A Rainsville police officer was approached Tuesday night near the Northeast Alabama Agribusiness Center on Highway 75 by a man bleeding from his throat, according to a news release from DeKalb County Sheriff Jimmy Harris.
The officer was directing traffic for graduation ceremonies at the center.
An ambulance came to take the man to meet a medical helicopter for transport to Huntsville Hospital for treatment of injuries the victim said were inflicted by a friend, Harris stated.
After sheriff's deputies and police officers from Rainsville, Powell and Sylvania came to talk with the victim, "it was discovered that the victim and a male friend had been visiting a residence near the Sylvania Lake area. The two men, having consumed alcohol, had a disagreement and one was cut by his friend," Harris stated.
"After being cut, the victim left the scene and stopped to ask assistance from the first officer he saw," according to Harris.
The sheriff said the victim had surgery, was placed in the surgical intensive care unit and is listed in stable condition. He said two close family members told investigators that the victim does not want to pursue charges.
"Of course this will be followed up by investigators conducting a bedside interview directly with the victim," the sheriff said. "I want the community to know that this was an isolated incident between two friends who were drinking and had a disagreement. I feel that the suspect was a danger only to his friend."
Killer sentenced to 17 years
MARYVILLE, Tenn. -- A Blount County man has been sentenced to 17 years in prison on his guilty plea to fatally stabbing a neighbor and burning his body.
The Daily Times reported 39-year-old Jeffrey Lee Jenkins entered guilty pleas Tuesday to second-degree murder and abuse of a corpse. The plea bargain came in the April 2008 killing of Jerry Lee Click.
Click and Jenkins lived in Friendsville, Tenn.
Jenkins will be credited with the four years he has spent in jail since his arrest.
Shelter infested; animals to move
MACON, Ga. -- Macon's animal control authorities are trying to find homes for dozens of animals as it fumigates its mice- and roach-infested shelter.
The Telegraph newspaper reports homes must be found for 78 dogs and 11 cats for at least three days and perhaps as many as five while the facility is cleaned.
Van VanDeWalker, who is in charge of the Macon animal shelter's daily operations, keeps a large bucket below a hole in his office ceiling to trap the mice that get in. He said a team from the Georgia Department of Agriculture found the building overrun with mice and roaches Monday and said it was the worst infestation they'd ever seen.