Birmingham Post-Herald from Birmingham, Alabama • 6

rtti I u--- Saturday August 3 1996 6A i Boston mail questioned in double murder I' The truck was reehtered to Steven in the raid nf McKenzie's anartment were other robberies in neighboring COUntie The truck was registered to Steven in the raid of apartment were other robberies in neighboring counties By Jon Anderson flews staff writer Inside Arrests made In Birmingham homicides Page 7A in the past two months according to Owens and Shelby County Sheriff James Jones Officials have warned that both men are very dangerous and continued to ask for help in locating them They also still are looking for a 1980s maroon Pontiac Grand Prix thought to be used in the robbery Anyone with information concerning the whereabouts af Gamble and Presley or other information related to this case should contact Sgt Mike DeHart of the Shelby County Sheriff Office at 669-4181 the federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms US Office Massachusetts State Police and Boston Police Department Two teenagers charged with the murder of the pawn shop owner and an employee were still at large Friday They are LaSa-muel Gamble 18 and Marcus Presley 18 John Burleson 44 of Indian Springs Village and Janice Littleton 48 of Moody were gunned down during a robbery at the store Gamble and Presley have been linked to McKenzie 84 of Boston Federal and Massa- chusetts authorities raided Boston apartment Thursday and reported finding a handgun taken from the pawn shop on UB 280 in Shelby County McKenzie on Friday afternoon was being held in the Suffolk County Jail on charges of receiving a stolen firearm and unlawful possession of a firearm in a house according to the Boston Police Department His bond was set at $500000 in an arraignment hearing Friday morning Lew enforcement offldals in Massachusetts have arrested one of at least three men thought to be involved in last robbery and double murder at 280 Pawn Shop fin Shelby County A pickup truck authorities believe was tpsed in the heist was found in the driveway ef a Birmingham home near Finley Avenue find Interstate 85 Shelby County District Attorney Bobby Owens and investigators from the Shelby County Sheriffs Department were in Boston Friday to interview McKenzie who has been charged with robbery hi Shelby County The Fugitive Task Force assisted in locating McKenzie Other agencies involved James to posh for lower taxes in GOP platform By David White News staff writer' MONTGOMERY Gov Fob James said he will push for lower federal taxes and greater power for states next week when he and 99 other people write the national Republican platform for this presidential campaign "The American people are wotting five months out iff the year to pay federal state and local James said "The federal government is overpriced It is inefficient We need a substantial tax cut for middle America period and a simpler he said James will fly Sunday from Birmingham to San Diego where the platform-drafting committee of two people from each state begins its work at 9 am Monday Jefferson County Commissioner Bettye Fine Collins is Alabama's other committee member James said hie would remain in San Diego the following week for the GOP national convention which starts Aug 12 James is an Alabama delegate He plans to return to Alabama Aug 17 While gone James said his chief iff staff Janies Sasser and state finance director Sage Lyons would oversee state government James plans to travel to San Diego via commerical airline with his wife Bobbie director of information Alfred Sawyer policy adviser Michael Ctamarra and two state trooper body guards Clamarra will pay his own way but the state will pay the tab for all the others in party said news staff photobernaro troncme Raecca Nixon left and Tabitha Gailbreath spend some time with Johnny Banks at Children's Hospital James calls the federal government overpriced inefficient "We know what the bill is lintil we get he said adding that his hotel and flight expenses will be IJ800 Sawyer who heads press office said he's going with James because "You've got a large representation of the media there still the governor even though at the Republican The convention is scheduled to end the night of Aug 15 but Sawyer said James couldn't get a flight out iff San Diego the next day and will have to wait until Aug 17 Besides lower taxes James also said he wants the platform to stress the UA 10th Amend- ment which specifies that all au-thority not delegated to the federal See James Page 7A if Teenagers earn trust of Hospital patients parents I £By Lesley Brown Nefrs staff writer responsible for so much in this Job" Miss Gailbreath said a parent trusts you to leave you with their child important to be careful" Miss Gailbreath is one of about 65 Hospital volunteers who worked in jobs ranging from clerks to recovery room assistants this summer After working one day as a clerk Miss Gailbreath followed social workers on rounds and was assigned patients and families to assist While walking her rounds Miss Gailbreath lght-week-dd Johnny Banks got more attention last week than he bargained for During a two-day stay on the fourth 1 floor of Hospital Johnny was cradled by a host of junior volunteers while his took a much-deserved be volunteers offer to do things for you" becca Nixon 14 who also is a McAdory ninth-grader Mias Nixon later explained that she and Mias Gailbreath have been best friends since second grade and found out two yean ago that they are distant cousins Miss Nixon was spending the day working in the hospital but the next day she worked in the Center for Hearing Impaired helping speech language pathologist Nancy Gregg conduct a therapy session with four preschool children "These kids are so exciting to be around" Miss Nixon said amazing you can teach a deaf person to talk These kids are just Miss Nixon sat across the child-size table from Ms Gregg answering questions and gathering materials for activities When a new activity or series of sounds was introduced Miss Nixon would take turn before the children serves as a normal language model for See Volunteers Page 7A James OKs ballot bill regrets oil-gas tax goof jMrs Banks said watching one volunteer play visited one of her favorite patients a boy who peekaboo with her sou real helpful not hav- was gaining weight after having a feeding tube £ingjo worry about leaving for a few minutes inserted She stroked the sleeping bland comforting to know someone is wanting to help if hair and checked to see if his mother had been or have to go somewhere by real she said 1 have a note for his mother if I get to see her before I stop working I've talked to her a lot and with her I feel like I've known her Mias Gailbreath later stopped to say hello to another volunteer working the fourth floor Re- The peekaboo volunteer Tabitha Gailbreath Ijspent much of her summer on the fourth floor -helping social workers provide comfort for pa-3Ueqts and parents Miss Gailbreath 14 a at McAdory High School gave Mrs her pager number urging her to call if ahewanted her to come back and keep Johnny By David White News staff writer i companies James know and later told reporters that he was still considering the proposal when it had in fact ben made law hours earlier byGray James on Friday said he supported the new law which for 'five years will cut in half the state severance tax on natural gas or oil pumped from new wells The new absentee-ballot law requires that two adults or a notary public witness the signature of each absentee ballot A dispute over unwitnessed ballots delayed results from the November 1994 election for Alabama chief justice for 11 1 fTrio get total of 1051 years for rape of Morris teen MONTGOMERY Gov Fob James signed an absentee-ballot bill on Friday and then vowed his legal adviser never again would sign a bill into law for him unless it is at his direction never happened before without my seeing the James said "It was a mistake It had never happened before it will never happen again Bill Gray legal adviser has power of attorney for James and said he often signs name onto some of the hundreds of bills that pass the Legislature each year Only he or James can sign the name to a bill Gray said Gray on Tuesday signed a bill giving tax breaks to natural gas ana oil Zfyyun Howe iNews staff writer Since the judge say on the Jiench why he meted out the harshest penalties for the crimes Sanford said "I can only assume it was because iff what he heard from the witness The most damning testimony came from the victim herself who was home alone and out iff See Trio Page 8A With terse comments Friday Circuit Judge James Garrett sentenced Reginald Avery Frederick Carter HI and Costillo Arteen Johnson to the maximum penalties Alabama laws allow for the crimes they were convicted of in June Avery was sentenced to a total of 817 years Carter to 416 years and Johnson to 318 years Lawyer Bob Sanford who represented Johnson in the trial said he was disappointed at the severity of sentences One thousand fifty-one years the total number of years a Jefferson Cotfnty Judge piled on three men found guilty of Zraplng and sodomizing a 18-yearoid Morris girl 3n September 1994 after breaking into her home ant then taking items that led to their arrest The law must undergo a review by the UB Justice Department which must agree that it would not dilute the voting strength of blacks 4 iBrenda Ladun sues Channel 6 claiming discrimination harassment py Alee Harvey -News staff writer it Brenda Ladun an anchor and reporter for eight years at WBRC JClinnel I before leaving in July has suit against the station aileg- with her Knott said "It's just not an issue and it would be foolish of us to make it an Efforts to reach Ms Ladun for comment were unsuccessful but her attorney said she would have no immediate comment on the allegations "We are not going to comment on this until it has been William Lewis said Ms Ladun left Channel 8 on June Channel 6 General Manager Stan Knott and Fox Television Stations iff Birmingham which owns the sta-' tkL Among other things the suit says that Fox withdrew all employment offers to Ms Ladun who is married to WBMGChannel 42 sports anchor Doug Bell when she fold them she was pregnant in April In May according to the suit "management of Fox Birmingham admitted to her that die was not assigned to impor-' "Basically we negotiated with her for some' time and were never aware that she had some iff these he said "The only concern she brought to us was a concern about the financial Knott said Channel 6 does not discriminate against pregnant employ- "We were very supportive iff Brenda with her first child and have been very supportive of Janet JIall tant news assignments because she was In addition Ms Ladun alleges that Knott and other Fox manage- ment "degraded her and other female employees openly and in front of ceemployees referring to her body parts and allowing lewd and obscene talk and gestures in the Knott said Friday 'that he had read the complaint and was surprised by Ms Ladun's accusations 1 SO and on July 1 went to work for Alabama's ABC 1340 On Sept 1 Channel 8 will drop its ABC affili-ateship and become a Fox affiliate and 8340 which Is composed iff Tuscaloosa's WCFTChannel 33 and WJSUChaimel 40 will take over the ABC affillateship in the area Since Ms departure from Channel 0 when her attorney cited "Irreconcilable differences- with See Ladun Pag? 7A Hht discrimination and harassment 1 JjJfhe lawsuit filed Friday In Jeffer-County Circuit Oot.