Families of 5 slain in Birmingham remember loved ones as kind and hard workers
Birmingham police cars flood the scene of a robbery in west Birmingham where five people were found dead early Sunday morning, Jan. 29, 2012. The bodies were at the white house on the right on Avenue S. (The Birmingham News/Kent Faulk) BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — The mother and sister of two men slain early Sunday in one of the worst killings in Birmingham on record said all five of the victims were good people who will be dearly missed. Angie Render lost her son, Charles “C.J.” Render, 21, and brother, 42-year-old Ronnie Render, in the weekend massacre at her home on Avenue S in Ensley. She also lost her cousin, Demetrius Sanford, 19, and godsons Jeffrey Davis Jr., 23, and Jonathan Sanchez, 23. “All of them,” she said, “were good boys.” She said she saw all of the victims on Saturday at her home, and left them to their card game. “They were playing cards like they always do,” Angie Render said. “A lot of times I play with them, but I just wanted to get out of the house that night so I left.” Birmingham police responding to a call of a robbery in progress found the five victims inside the home. Four of them had been shot execution-style. The fifth, Demetrius Sanford, had driven up to the house during the attack, and was dragged from a car outside by the attackers into the home and fatally shot. Render said the killings were a senseless tragedy. “I lost my dad last night to cancer,” she said today. “I’m still holding it together, somehow.” Her brother Ronnie Render, she said, was married and had five children. He worked two jobs, one with a janitorial service and the other as a caregiver for elderly, cleaning their yards and homes. “He was caring,” she said. Her son C.J. Render, she said, also had two jobs. He worked as a club security guard at night, and home improvement construction by day. “He was just a wonderful son, oh my Lord,” she said. “He was the perfect son.” Ravenn Carlton said the shooting claimed the love of her life, Jonathan Sanchez. The two dated their freshman year at Midfield High School, and then went their separate ways when he changed high schools. They got back together in 2009 and, last year, gave birth to their daughter Amelia. “We loved each other dearly,” said today, sobbing at the memory. “I’m trying to keep it together, but it hurts so bad.” Carlton said Sanchez was a cook at the Summit Club, where he was…
Game Day event looking for sponsors, volunteers
Rosemary Jordan hugs a child during the Empowerment Through Change Gifts En Motion event in December. (The Huntsville Times/Submitted photo) HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Empowerment Through Change (ETC) is looking for sponsors, volunteers and door prizes for Inner City Game Day at the Dr. Richard Showers Center Feb. 18, 1 to 4 p.m. Game Day, open to ages 6-14 and their parents, is one of several projects throughout the year hosted by ETC, an organization dedicated to helping low-income families learn life-changing lessons. It promotes unity, developing new relationships and listening skills. The event is also endorsed by the City of Huntsville Youth Services office. “The purpose of each project is to empower the youth and their parents to reach greatness,” said ETC founder Rosemary Jordan, whose own son was murdered on Dec. 22, 2007. “We celebrate the youths who are doing well, as well as encourage those who are not. We advocate against gang involvement and encourage education.” In December, ETC awarded 30 honors students at area Title One schools by providing them with Christmas gifts and a Christmas party. The children were required to have all A’s and B’s on their report cards to receive gifts provided by local individuals, businesses and organizations. Jordan said “children learn best when they are enjoying themselves. The Game Day event is a learning tool requiring that the participants listen, learn and illustrate.” Jordan said the door prizes are “simply a message. Doing good brings great rewards.” In addition to hosting quarterly events, ETC also has a Mentoring Mom’s program to help teach women parenting skills. The Dr. Richard Showers Center is at 4600 Blue Spring Road. Game Day has a limited number of spots and children must be accompanied by at least one adult. Pre-registration is required. Email Jordan at [email protected] or call her at 256-665-8594 to register, to donate, volunteer or for more information.
Former Birmingham schools security officer pleads guilty to child pornography charge
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama –A former security officer in the Birmingham City School System pleaded guilty today in federal court to one count of production of child pornography. Michael Wayne Wooten, 60, of Alabaster, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Inge P. Johnson at a hearing in Birmingham this morning. He is to be sentenced May 2. The plea was announced in a joint statement issued by U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Northern District of Alabama FBI Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Maley and Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper. “Wooten’s crimes highlight the need for us to remain vigilant in protecting our children, the most vulnerable in our society, from sexual predators,” Vance said. Wooten worked as a security officer for the city school system when, between August 2009 and April 2010, he used an office at Dupuy Elementary School to take modeling photos of numerous juvenile girls, according to the statement which cites court records. After one of these modeling sessions, one of the victims informed her parents of potentially inappropriate conduct by Wooten. A subsequent search of Wooten’s residence yielded multiple computers containing child pornography images, including images produced by Wooten depicting several victims, between 4 and 9 years of age, engaged in sexually explicit conduct. For the child pornography offense, Wooten faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, as well as the possibility of lifetime supervised release. Wooten also faces a fine of $250,000.
Whooping crane migration effort is finished; decision upcoming on their fate
Operation Migration, an effort to lead nine juvenile whooping cranes similar to those in this file photo from Wisconsin to Florida, ended in Winston County after some of the birds wouldn’t follow the ultralight aircraft trying to lead them. (The Huntsville Times/File photo) WINSTON COUNTY, Alabama – Operation Migration to help nine juvenile whooping cranes migrate from Wisconsin to Florida is over, The Times Daily reported . A group trying to lead the rare birds on a migration path with ultralight aircraft have been hampered by the weather, the federal government and a reluctance by some of the birds to follow the aircraft. Operation Migration, the group leading the migration, will decide later this week what to do with the cranes, the newspaper said. Options includes putting them in crates and taking them to Florida or Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge in Morgan County.
Commenters amazed by way auditors lost Regions employee data
Regions Financial says auditor Ernst & Young lost employee 401k data stored on computer flash drive. (The Birmingham News / Joe Songer) Personal information about Regions Financial Corp. current and former employees was lost in November when a flash drive with the data came up missing after being mailed by outside auditor Ernst & Young in the same envelope as the decryption code, Birmingham News writer Russell Hubbard reported. Regions informed employees of the missing data in a letter dated January 23. The company also shared a copy of a letter sent to its employees by auditor Ernst & Young, which mailed the package with information about 401k retirement plan participants to another of its offices, with the flash drive and the decryption code together. When the package arrived, the flash drive was gone, but the page with the decryption code was still there. In the online community, the reaction was a mixture of of amazement and disbelief. Read some of what people are saying: • “Mailing them together? Dumb” — bhamliberal • “I would imagine Ernst and Young has many corporate clients with whom they exchange confidential data. Surely they have a process in place that is a little more secure and thought out than this. But, apparently they do not. “Maybe state and federal regulators should pay them a little visit and do a complete top-to-bottom hot-seat audit of their security practices. “What other lax processes exist at E&Y?” — sonofthestranger • “The bigger crime here is that Regions waited for 2 months to notify employees. This is clearly E&Ys fault, but Regions will suffer as well. You put college term papers on thumb drives, not employee sensitive information. ” — hoovereagle • “Something doesn’t add up here… “1– the package arrived “2– the flashdrive was not in the package “3– the codekey was in the package “Okay.. so, why on earth would a thief steal the flashdrive but not the codekey needed to make any use of it, and then, even more puzzling, why would he send it on it’s way to it’s intended destination? Why not just keep the
MAWSS has not paid city permit fees in months
MOBILE, Alabama — The areas largest water and sewer utility hasn’t paid the city of Mobile required permit fees in five months, and now owes more than $113,000. After the city engineer warned the Mobile Area Water and Sewer System that it would have to pay up or face losing the right to dig in city streets, the utility sued, asking a judge to allow it to continue working. The permit fee fight is the latest in a series of arguments that have been simmering for more than a year.
Warrior woman dies in house fire
WARRIOR, Alabama - A 44-year-old Warrior woman died Monday in a house fire at her home. Warrior firefighters were dispatched to the home of Susan Rouse at 627 Hart Circle at 11:30 a.m. When firefighters arrived, the home was burning and Rouse was found unconscious just inside the front door. Paramedics treated her on the scene and then took her to UAB Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 1:52 p.m., said Jefferson County Deputy Coroner Bill Yates. Rouse sustained smoke inhalation and burns, he said. Warrior Fire Chief Clay Neely said Rouse was married with two adult children, but said she was alone in the house at the time of the fire. It is the first fire fatality in Warrior in about eight years, the chief said. “It’s kind of hard to take,” he said.
State board denies parole for former Homewood Scout volunteer
Victim says Charles Corley was, “just a really bad man that played the system to do evil things.â MONTGOMERY, Alabama — The state Board of Pardons and Paroles today denied a request of parole for Charles Donald Corley, who lived in Homewood when he pleaded guilty in 1995 to molesting three boys. The denial means Corley will be in prison for at least five more years. Corley, now 61, pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual abuse and two counts of sodomy, and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Corley had been a Sunday school teacher at Trinity United Methodist Church in Homewood and a volunteer with the church-sponsored Boy Scout troop. More than 30 people showed up for the hearing in Montgomery at the Board of Pardons and Paroles headquarters. Jason Lee, one of Corley’s victims, started a support group to encourage parole officials to require that Corley serve his full term. One of the people molested by Corley, Brandon Baginski, 29, of Nashville, said after the decision, ” I’m glad to know that he’s going to serve for another five years, and that the streets are protected and other kids are protected.”
Fire destroys home in Brewton; mother, two sons escape uninjured
A family home was destroyed in Brewton when a fire thought to have started in the kitchen tore through the structure, according to a story in the Brewton Standard . Stephanie Allen Mendibles and her two sons, Aden and Ethan, were at her mother’s home when neighbors called to tell her her home was ablaze. Escambia County Rescue Squad member David Cole said the home was fully involved when they arrived on scene, according to the story. See the full story in the Brewton Standard .
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