Picture of suspect and, at right, Tracy Latty Algar
Accused killer of Alabaster store clerk captured in predawn raid
By Carol Robinson
AL.com
A felon just released from prison in 2015 after serving 17 years for robbery is now charged in the brutal slaying of an Alabaster store clerk.
A SWAT team made up of Alabaster police and Shelby County sheriff's deputies stormed the apartment of 43-year-old Michael Anthony Powell shortly after 5 a.m. They tossed a stun grenade, or flashbang, into the ground-floor unit and captured Powell while he was asleep in his bed.
Powell is charged with capital murder in the Oct. 30 shooting death of Kirkland Chevron clerk Tracy Latty Algar, 54. She was gunned down five days ago during a holdup inside the First Street North store. Police said she was taken into the store restroom and shot execution-style in the head.
He said nothing and didn't appear surprised as he was led from his home at The View Apartments, which is less than a mile from the Chevron. Wearing khaki shorts and a red golf-type shirt, he was loaded into a police SUV and taken to the Alabaster Police Department for questioning.
Algar, who only worked every third Sunday at the store, was killed not long after she got to work. The store opened at 9 a.m. and, sometime in the next couple of hours, police say, Powell entered, stole cash and then shot Algar to death. The slaying happened sometime between 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. said Alabaster police Chief Curtis Rigney. A customer made the discovery about 11:15 a.m.
The cameras inside the store had not been working for some time, knocked out by lightning a long time ago, Algar's family said. But, based on surveillance video from neighboring businesses, detectives Powell as a person of interest in the case and have been working around the clock to crack the case.
The suspect – later identified as Powell - was seen in the area of the Chevron between 10:45 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. that Sunday. He was wearing a white shirt, dark pants and a black fedora. Authorities said he walked from his apartment to the Chevron, and walked back home after the robbery and killing.
Authorities have not released specifics of Algar's death but described it as brutal. "All we know is that he just walked in there and killed her,'' said one of Algar's sisters, Lisa Jones. "She closed her eyes, and woke up with Jesus."
Court records show Powell was convicted of two counts of robbery and one count of escape in Covington County in southern Alabama in 1998. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison for each of the three convictions – to be served concurrently – and went to prison on May 14, 1998. His release date was scheduled for April 4, 2018 but he was paroled on Oct. 1, 2015. He served 17 years, nine months and 21 days.
Prior to that, he had been convicted – also in Covington County – on charges of theft of property and two counts of receiving stolen property. He served one year, one month and 23 days for those convictions.
Algar's funeral was held this morning. In an interview with AL.com on Thursday, family members described Algar as a shining light with a strong faith and a devotion to her family.
Much of her time was spent in church-related activities – Bible study, the Welcome Outreach Team and Sisters of the Table. "She worshipped her God with such joy,'' her mother, Linda Latty, said. "She loved uplifting gospel music. She would ask questions about the Bible and God, and when I didn't have an answer for her, she would add it to her list to ask Jesus when she got to Heaven."
About 11 years ago, Algar suffered a stroke which somewhat affected her speech. It was something she was self-conscious about but family members said her job at Kirkland Chevron restored her confidence because of daily interactions with the public. "She loved her job,'' her sister, Jones, said. "She was a very positive influence. She always tried to keep a smile on her face, especially with her customers. You could see a light shining through Tracy."
In the wake of Algar's death, her family members have tried to remember better times and not focus on what she suffered in the moments before she was killed. "I know she was scared,'' her mother said.
"I can't image what she was going through,'' Robertson said.
Investigators told Algar's loved ones that her death was instant, and they find solace in that. "She wasn't raped and she wasn't beaten and that's a blessing,'' her mother said.
Algar's funeral was held at The Connection Church in Pelham, with a private burial following. She will be wearing pair of angel wing earrings that a friend had bought her two days before her death but never had a chance to give her. She also will be wearing a pair of socks that her mom had knitted to give her for Christmas. "Now she's going to Heaven in them,'' Latty said.
http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/in...alabaster.html
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