Charles T. Olson/MCSO

Marcus Minnis/MCSO

Michelle L. Ikard/MCSO

Three people have been arrested after being indicted by a Madison County grand jury for their roles in the killing of a New Market area man last summer.

Marcus Elliott Minnis, 24, Charles Theodore Olson, 21, and Michelle Lynn Ikard, 41, were arrested Friday, according to Madison County Sheriff's spokesman Chad Brooks.

Olson and Ikard were booked into the county jail on murder and assault charges.

Olson was being held without bond while Ikard was being held on bonds totalling $300,000.

The jail website had no specific information about Minnis Friday afternoon.

The indictments stem from the death of Gregory Shepherd and the beating of Joshua Marsh.

The men were attacked on the evening of July 13 while they slept in a home on Cavalier Drive off Moores Mill Road.

Joseph Whitney Petty, 22, was arrested the next day and charged with murder.

Brooks said at the time Petty entered the home and struck both victims with a blunt object, thought to be a hammer.

Shepherd was found dead at the scene while Marsh suffered serious injuries but survived.

The theft of prescription drugs was thought to be the motive for the attacks.

Belinda Lathon said a man knocked on the door of her apartment at 1500 Halston Circle at 11:15 a.m.

When she answered it the man pointed a gun at her face and demanded money.

Lathon gave the robber cash from her purse after which he took her prescription meds.

No arrests were reported.

Police said someone entered two storage buildings, located at 2112 Oakwood Avenue, during the night and took nine rolls of electric fence wire.

Officers later found the wire in the bushes behind the building.

No arrests were reported.

Jefferson Le'Frank Chandler/MCSO

A man has been charged with rape in connection with an assault on the AAMU campus.

School spokesperson Wendy Kobler said the assault happened Wednesday at a male residence hall.

Kobler confirmed Jefferson Le'Frank Chandler, 18, was arrested Wednesday.

Madison County jail records indicate Chandler was booked into the facility late Wednesday and has since been released on bond.

Citing the ongoing investigation Kobler did not release any further details and would not comment whether Chandler was a student at the school.

Todd Brown

Hammad Memon

The mother of a student shot and killed by another student almost two years ago at a Madison school has filed suit against the alleged shooter, the school system, and several others.

Towanda Moore is suing the Madison School Board, Superintendent Dee Fowler, accused shooter Hammad Memon, his parents, the current principal of the school where Brown was shot, and up to 46 unnamed persons.

Moore's son, Todd Brown, was shot in the head and killed Feb. 5, 2010 while in the hall at Discovery Middle School.

Memon, who was 14 at the time of the crime and is now 16, has been charged with murder and is facing trial this summer as an adult.

Moore accuses the school system and Memon's parents, Iqba and Safia, of knowing about Hammad's emotional and personality disorders and allowing him to transfer to Discovery from Liberty Middle School.

The suit claims Memon "had a history of severe, observable mental instability, violence, and disregard for authority" prior to being transferred to Discovery and that school officials "knew or should have known (of) Memon's violent tendencies and emotional instability."

The suit also alleges students knew of several occasions where Memon brought a handgun to school prior to Brown's death.

Click below to read the lawsuit:

toddbrownlawsuit

The contractor will be closing one lane of northbound Whitesburg Drive from Longwood Avenue to Governors Drive. Closure is needed to replace curb.

The contractor will be closing the intersection of Longwood Avenue at Governors Drive. Local traffic will need to access Longwood Avenue from California Street during this time.  Closure is needed for concrete island work and paving at Governors Drive and Longwood Avenue.

Jessica Thompson told police she left her children with her oldest daughter to go to the store around 7:30 p.m.

At some point two men kicked open the back door of the home, located in the 3600 block of Oakdale Circle.

The burglars stole property as the family members waited inside a closet.

The burglars fled as Thompson was returning to her home.

No arrests were reported.

Police said in a release two men wearing masks entered the Game Stop at 2250 Sparkman Drive at 8:50 p.m.

One of the men had a handgun and demanded the store cash.

The pair then fled after taking an undisclosed amount of money.

No arrests were reported.

Spokesman Harry Hobbs said in a statement on January 13 investigators from the North Precinct and Burglary Task Force uncovered the scheme.

The suspects are accused of stealing checks during burglaries then having them filled out and deposited into various accounts.

Several of the suspects have given statements implicating themselves in the crimes, Hobbs said.

Although police did not release the names until Thursday four of the suspects were booked into the Madison County Jail on Jan. 9 and 10, according to the jail's website.

Hobbs said late Thursday the names were withheld due to guidelines from investigators. No further details were given.

Here is a list of those charged as released to the media:

Aundrea Wade, 28; Edward Deante Milton, 22; Jovan Lavar Willis,  34; Richmond Cordale Smartt, 24; Frank Hurley Jr., 41; Regina Rena Hayley, 36.

A seventh person was arrested but not charged.

The suspects are Huntsville residents and have been charged with possessing a forged instrument.

The jail website listed Hayley's most recent arrest as being in 2007 but no charge was listed.

Hurley's last arrest is listed as being in November of 2011 and in that case he was charged with two counts of possessing a forged instrument.

The test helicopter is displayed for the media Friday at UAH. WT Martin/HNW

(From release) The Apache Block III National Airspace Trainer (AB3NAT) is a flexible system that provides Manned-to-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) training without restrictions associated with an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) that currently have to operate in restricted airspace. The AB3NAT uses a surrogate UAS to conduct MUM-T training (using an OH-58 manned aircraft for this demo).

MUM-T is a capability used in the Army today that allows a helicopter pilot to guide and direct unmanned aircraft 10-15 kilometers ahead and maintain a great standoff distance from enemy combatants. MUM-T allows a pilot to control a UAS’ flight path, sensors and cameras. MUM-T essentially puts the hunting dog in front of the hunter and helps to save Soldiers’ lives

Currently, the Army has to train on MUM-T only in locations around the U.S. with restricted airspace. With the AB3NAT, the Army will now have the ability to conduct MUM-T training in any airspace around the U.S. and the world. The AB3NAT can be used in the current configuration and kitted for any non-specific Army aircraft.

The AB3NAT takes MUM-T training to the next level where there is actual control of the surrogate UAS from a manned platform versus just receipt of the video from an unmanned platform. The Army will have an unrestricted aircraft that can fly anywhere in national airspace and is built on a system that is very flexible so that it provides realistic training feedback to any manned platform with Levels of Interoperability (LOI) 2-4 capability (see attached for more information on LOI and MUM-T)

The AB3NAT is locally engineered, developed and tested in Huntsville via a partnership with the Apache Block III Product Office (part of the Program Executive Office for Aviation), UAH, and the Momentum Foundation. The team comprises mostly of UAH graduate students, interns, and engineers from the AB3 Product Office, UAH and Momentum Foundation.