Does Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan expect more arrests in the double murder?
Three additional arrests have been made in the murders of a couple in their Florida home, but police say as many as two more culprits may be at large as authorities try to get to the root of a heinous crime. Today, police say robbery was just one motive. Late Monday night police made made an additional arrest in the murder of a Florida couple. Police say Gary Lamont Sumner is one of the individuals seen on surveillance tape approaching the home of Melanie and Byrd Billing the night they were killed. Cameras surrounding the home captured several men, some of whom police say remain at large, dressed in black and carrying long guns. “We expect more arrests to be imminent in this case,” says Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan. There are currently five men in custody in connection with this case. Authorities are focusing on one man in particular: 35-year old Leonard Gonzalez Jr., a certified black belt. He’s seen on teaching children self-defense techniques in 2007, but police say Gonzale
Facility hardly a tourist attraction Biloxi Sun Herald By STEWART SMITH FOR THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LOST GAP – It’s the mid-1990s. The number of inmates in Mississippi’s penal system is increasing, and state officials need to build more prisons – or contract with private companies to build more prisons. Meanwhile, Lauderdale County and Meridian officials are looking for ways to improve the local economy and create jobs. It seemed like a good match. The state needed a place to build a prison and Lauderdale had a readily available work force and land that needed no rezoning. When city and county officials began putting together a proposal, they hoped the new prison would provide an influx of jobs that would only increase over time. The Wackenhut Corp., now The Geo Group Inc., won the contract to build and operate East Mississippi Correctional Facility in southwest Lauderdale County’s Lost Gap community. The facility accepted its first prisoners in April 1999. “To the best of my knowledge I
