The Montgomery Advertiser from Montgomery, Alabama • 21

MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER INSIDE Daily Crime Report. 2B Government news. 3B a Boycott called off after Texaco pledges to expand minority work force. 4B SUCTION Thursday December 19, 1996 John Hasselwander, City editor, 261-1518 Two teen suspects say third fired fatal shot nr) By Alvin Benn ADVERTISER STAFF WRITER Ms. Sparks said statements given by Suttles and Julius Reeves both point to Matthew Reeves, 19, as the one who fired the shotgun, killing Mr.

Johnson I T. i J- I lZ instantly. As they were being led out of the Dallas County Courthouse to be taken to the county jail, both brothers denied being the trigger man. Unlike during past court appearances and shortly after their arrests, the three were not smiling, laughing or shouting obscenities. They looked grim as they were escorted in handcuffs to a Dallas County Sheriffs Department patrol car.

Judge Walker, who has denied bond for the three, appointed Blanchard McLeod and Marvin Wiggins to defend Matthew Reeves. Selma lawyer Alston Keith was named to defend Julius Reeves. "In light of (Matthew Reeves') previous record, and the fact he's being implicated as the trigger man, I think that's the reason he has two lawyers and the other two have one," said Ms. Sparks. "If ever there's been a capital murder case in Selma, this is it," said Capt.

Joe Harrell, chief of detectives for the Selma Police Department. "It was a cold-blooded killing. The victim never knew what hit him." SELMA Two teen-agers charged with capital murder might help authorities gain a conviction against the alleged trigger man the brother of one in exchange for leniency, a defense attorney said Wednesday. Attorney Kyra Sparks, who represents Brenda "Bam Bam" Suttles, 19, said her client and Julius Reeves, 17, both have given statements implicating Reeves' brother, Matthew, as the trigger man in the shooting death of a Selma Housing Authority employee on Thanksgiving. "When you are facing the death penalty, cooperation is something to think about, and I believe helping the prosecution of this case is a possibility," Ms.

Sparks said after a hearing before Dallas County District Judge Nathaniel Walker on Wednesday morning. The three teen-agers could be sentenced to death or life without parole if convicted of capital murder in the slaying of Willie Johnson 39, who had helped drive them into Selma after their car broke down outside the city. 4 '41 Jk 1 Capital murder suspects Matthew Reeves, gesturing, and Julius Reeves, left, are led to a patrol car after a court appearance Wednesday in Selma. Taunt dlOvODUCu ri- w. 1 I ivtr-.

3-0 4: Support the local Salvation Army's red kettles found at most shopping centers, including Montgomery and Eastdale malls, Home Quarters, Service Merchandise stores, the Montgomery, Wetumpka and Prattville Wal-Marts, Sam's, Montgomery and Prattville Kmarts, Del-champs and various ABC stores. The Salvation Army will be collecting at those locations through Dec. 24. Church groups, businesses, and individuals who want to volunteer should call Brenda Richardson at 265-0281, Ext. 210.

I Cancellations for events scheduled for today include: The 7 a.m. meeting of the Capitol Hill Republican Club in the Huntingdon College Dining Hall. For more information, call J. Elbert Peters at 284-1286. Ronald James Caldwell's noon lecture, "The Upjohn Churches of Antebellum Alabama," at the Milo B.

Howard Jr. Auditorium of the Alabama Department of Archives and History. For more information, call (334) 242-4363, Ext. 272. Rosa Parks, the mother of the modern-day civil rights movement, will be signing her new book, "Dear Mrs.

Parks: A Dialogue of Today's Youth," from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. today at Roots and Wings Book Store on Carter Hill Road. The Montgomery stop concludes her 381-day, 40-city "Quiet Strength" tour and also commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Montgomery bus boycott. The Richfield community of Millbrook will display Christmas lights and luminaries tonight.

To get there, turn right off of Old Deatsville Highway onto Myrick Road and then right into Richfield. A donation of a canned goods to help local people in need would be appreciated. For more information, call 285-5003. a smoke-free, Christian nightclub, is open Fridays from 7:30 p.m. until 11 p.m.

at Dexter Avenue United Methodist Church, 301 Dexter Ave. Singles and couples of all ages are invited. "301" will be closed Dec. 27, but will be open for New Year's Eve. Call 263-0549 for more information.

If you are interested in discovering some great craft ideas and recipes while at the same time supporting your local United Way affiliate, pick up a copy of the "Handmade From the Heart" craftbook and a copy of the "A Cause for Celebration" cookbook at JCPenney. For more information, call Szabo at 288-7950. More than 120 individuals have been honored or memorialized on the Baptist Hospice's Commemorative Quilt. The quilt is the result of a yearlong fund-raising campaign by the in-home caregiving program for terminal-'ly ill patients and their families. I The United Way Salute appears on Page 2B.

i. 1 By Ben Spiess ADVERTISER STAFF WRITER When Mayor Emory Folmar greeted a group of senior police officers at the Montgomery Police Academy last week, he carried good news: an article from USA Today about cities struggling to pay the police officers they hired under a federal grant. The story was greeted with satisfaction. "We thought this was going to happen," Chief John Wilson said, referring to the plight of cities such as St. Louis and Kansas City, which now are scrambling to pay their officers or face layoffs, according to the news report.

Fearing they might have to lay off officers, Montgomery decided not to accept the money for officers when Congress authorized the $8.8 billion federal grant in 1994. The grant pays 75 percent of training and salary of new officers for three years. After that, individual agencies pick up the wage bill. While Montgomery is happy without the cash, 266 law enforcement agencies in Alabama, including the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department and the Birmingham, Mobile and Hunts-ville police departments, have hired 692 officers with the federal money. The decision, they say, was a good one.

But Chief Wilson and Mayor Folmar took the fiscal high ground, using local money to increase the number of officers from 432 in 1994 to the current 464 with local funding. "It is my standard operating procedure never to hire on a grant," Chief Wilson said. "If something happened, an oil embargo (for example), or if we misprojected our revenue, we'd have to lay off people or come up with millions of dollars." "I'm not going to gamble with our people," he said. The grant carries two stipulations. First, the agency assumes 7 i 3 Meanwhile, Montgomery County Sheriff Dan Jones has hired a total of six deputies with the grant money in 1995 and 1996 and expects to add three more next year.

The money offsets the cost of deputies the county planned to hire anyway. County officials have planned to pay for the deputies, he said. "It's helped us get more people in the field," he said. The three other major departments in Alabama Birmingham, Mobile and Huntsville say they're tickled with the money. The Mobile Police Department has received more than $4 million in three years to hire 57 officers, Montgomery Mayor Emory Folmar inspects the weapon of one of 19 new officers who graduated from the city's police academy last week.

The new officers pushed the number of Montgomery police officers to 464 all funded without federal help. 1 ALVIN BENNSTAFF Jury finds six guilty in drug operation By Malcomb Daniels ADVERTISER STAFF WRITER A federal jury in Montgomery has convicted six people accused of bringing marijuana into central Alabama from 1993 to 1996. "We hope that it (the convictions) will have an impact, and discourage others from participating in the distribution of controlled substances," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Rand Neeley, who prosecuted the case. Daaiyah Jameelah Mustafa of Montgomery; Marian Everett Engle of Ashville; Tony Laverne Pruitt and Douglas Gene Mayber-ry, both of Tuskegee; and Oscar Hernan Pena and Miguel A.

Garri-do, both of Los Angeles, were found guilty Wednesday of federal drug charges. Mustafa, Engle, Mayberry, Pena and Garrido were convicted of money laundering and participating in a conspiracy with intent to distribute marijuana. Pruitt was found guilty of participating in a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana. Pruitt was found not guilty of money laundering. James Edward Johnson II was acquitted of conspiracy and money laundering charges.

U.S. District Judge Truman Hobbs will sentence the six March 5. Each faces a sentence of five to 40 years in prison. Mr. Neeley said evidence in the case showed that participants in the operation were responsible for bringing "in excess of 100 kilograms of marijuana" into the Montgomery area.

Prosecutors also were able to prove that $450,000 had been wired between Los Angeles and central Alabama. The evidence showed that Engle and Mayberry were responsible tor arranging shipments of marijuana into central Alabama, Mr. Neeley said. Pena and Garrido were responsible for shipping the drugs from Los Angeles, he said. Pruitt was responsible for receiving the drugs, which were shipped commercially, prosecutors said.

Mustafa acted as a "go-between" in the operation, Mr. Neeley said. In March, a federal grand jury indicted 13 people on charges of participating in the conspiracy. Terry Dean, George Charles Chilikas and Jason Ray Sweatman all pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge before going to trial, Mr. Neeley said.

Judge Hobbs dismissed charges against Precious Initia Willis Mayberry this week. Charges against Meredith Johnson were dismissed before the trial. Monica Kenlon Saunders is scheduled to be tried Jan. 21. The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service and several other law enforcement agencies assisted the U.S.

attorney's office with the case. "Assistant U.S. Attorney Rand Neeley did a tremendous job in this case, with excellent assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Terry Moorer," U.S. Attorney Redding Pitt said.

1 MARC J. KAWANISHISTAFF bringing their force to 482 officers, said Lt. Eddie Burrow. Lt. Burrow said the money allows the department to approach their goal of 500 officers by 2000.

He said the city council has committed to pick up the costs when the bills start coming in 1998. Birmingham and Huntsville each took about $1 million dollars to hire between 10 and 20 officers. "We went into this wide-eyed, knowing we'd have to pay," said Wendell Johnson, Huntsville Police Department spokesman. "It's allowed us to do a lot of things we couldn't have otherwise. HOW SHE STANDS Republican Vickie Jernigan is scheduled to be sworn in tonight as the District 1 Board of Education member.

Here are her stands on key issues: SUPPORTS Phonics Neighborhood schools Magnet schools that select students on the basis of academics (e.g. Lanier Academic Motivational Program) Capital improvements for school buildings Making sure the public knows what's going on in the school system Testing for teachers OPPOSES Last summer's renewal of school superintendent John A. "Pete" Eberhart's contract Accepting federal Goals 2000 money Magnet schools that do not select students on the basis of academics (e.g. Booker T. Washington Magnet High School) Ex-Good wyn PTA leader to join school board full cost for each officer after three years.

Second, the law enforcement agencies must practice community policing. About 9,000 law enforcement agencies have accepted the funds nationwide, said Charles Miller, U.S. Department of Justice spokesman. The grant has put 18,000 officers on the street, he said. About 30,000 more are in training.

Chief Wilson said the department already practices community policing. The chief also said the department is well-funded by Mayor Folmar, and he is not in a position where he is forced to take federal grants to boost personnel. Jernigan i i il tl helped bring Mr. Smith said. She helped rules.

They were put principal. She went before about roof Goodwyn. The termites new roof this year, "If I was in a side during a war, Johnny Harris, Mrs. Jernigan's The Goodwyn Goodwyn of 1995, that Mrs. Jernigan to call and ask "It's a complete different Although she By Holly Kurtz ADVERTISER STAFF WRITER Daryel Sebring remembers the February day that school violence broke the bones of his arm and the spirit of Goodwyn Junior High.

Two years later, the history teacher also remembers the woman who helped put the school back together after the brawl that resulted in the arrest of 14 students and injuries to Mr. Sebring and a security guard. That woman was Vickie Jerni-gan. Back then, she was co-president ofGoodwyn'sPTA. Tonight, she is scheduled to be sworn-in as the District 1 member of the Montgomery County Board of Education.

At 37, the Republican, who de Goodwyn parents and teachers together, form committees to set stricter school in place in 1995 along with a new the school board in March to complain leaks, termites and other problems at are gone and the building is getting a Mrs. Jernigan said. foxhole and I wanted somebody at my I would want her by my side," said whose child attended Goodwyn during reign as PTA president. of today is a different school than the said Mr. Sebring, who still recalls was the first school-related person about his broken arm.

about-face," he said. "It's 100 percent now." still attends meetings, Mrs. Jernigan no longer has the time to serve as an officer in Good-wyn's PTA. Mrs. Jernigan is the only board member with children young enough to attend Montgomery Public Schools.

She also was promoted this week to servicing manager and vice president at Regions Bank. Her workdays start at 8 a.m. and usually end around 9 or 10 p.m. when she is finished attending meetings and school events and talking on the telephone to constituents. She credits her husband, M.E.

"Eddie" Jernigan, for helping her get everything done. "I could not do it without him," she said. "That's for certain." "Our Town" appears in this space Tuesday through Saturday. items to "Our Town," P.O. Box 1000, Montgomery, AL 36101-1000; or fax 261-1505 Mi CONTRIBUTIONS TO DATE $1,767 WANT TO HELP? Good Cheer Fund do Volunteer Information Center P.O.

Box 4206 Montgomery, AL 36103 (334) 264-3335 I feated B.A. "Tony" Edwards in the District 1 Republican primary in June, is the youngest member of the seven-member board. But the turnaround at Goodwyn shows the mom with no prior political experience knows how to get things done, said Charles Smith, a former Goodwyn parent who heads the Montgomery County Council of PTAs this year. "You give her something to do and 10 minutes later, she's through," Mr. Smith said.

"She doesn't have a problem letting other people know, 'You're dropping the She's not rude. She's assertive. That's made a lot of people uncomfortable." After the wake-up call of the brawl, Mrs. Jernigan COMING FRIDAY: Alabama begins recovery from winter storm, but icy temperatures are on the way.