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Thread: Capital Murder Trial Set for Logan McKinley Delp in 2020 AL Slaying of Anthony Larry Sheppard

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    Capital Murder Trial Set for Logan McKinley Delp in 2020 AL Slaying of Anthony Larry Sheppard



    Anthony Larry Sheppard

    Logan Delp, Jaclyn Skuce, Lajuhn Smart, Aaron Howard and Angela Stolz


    Logan McKinley Delp


    Hartselle Police announce charges against 4 suspects in Anthony Larry Sheppard homicide


    Sheppard’s ex girlfriend, who he has a child with, is charged with soliciting individuals to commit capital murder

    WAFF Digital News Staff

    HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - The Hartselle Police Department announced charges against four individuals in relation to the homicide of Anthony Larry Sheppard on Wednesday.

    Hartselle officials announced the following individuals have been charged in this case:

    • Jaclyn Elaine Skuce
    • Aaron Carter Howard
    • Lajuhn Smart
    • Logan Delp

    Howard, Smart and Delp are all charged with capital murder. Skuce is charged with soliciting individuals to commit capital murder.

    Skuce and Sheppard have a child together and have been in a custody battle in Limestone County since 2018.

    On July 24th, Skuce and Sheppard were supposed to be in a Limestone County courtroom for a custody hearing. Sheppard didn’t show up for that hearing.

    Law enforcement tells WAFF 48 News Sheppard’s attorney couldn’t get a hold of him and called Hartselle Police for a wellness check.

    When police arrived at Sheppard’s home on Dawson Street, they found him shot multiple times and killed inside the house.

    This is the first homicide case Hartselle Police has seen since 2006.

    Investigators say Jaclyn Skuce was a person of interest since the murder happened.

    They also say Howard, Smart and Delp have no relation to Sheppard.

    These four arrests took investigators more than five weeks and they say the investigation isn’t finished.

    Local and federal law enforcement are continuing this investigation and say there could be more arrests in the future.

    For now, all four arrested suspects are being held in jail without bond.

    Hartselle Police Chief Justin Barley, FBI official Pat Stokes, and Morgan County District Attorney Scott Anderson spoke during Wednesday’s update.

    Details on each individual charged will be released later this afternoon.

    https://www.waff.com/2020/09/02/hart...ide-wednesday/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Edited:

    Fifth person charged with murder in Hartselle shooting

    By Lee Roop
    AL.com

    Madison County sheriff’s deputies have arrested a fifth person in a July fatal shooting in the north Alabama town of Hartselle. Angela Stolz, 33, is currently in the Morgan County Jail charged in the death of Anthony Larry Sheppard, Hartselle police said today.

    The FBI Violent Crimes Task Force passed information about Stolz to the Madison County Sheriff’s Office Friday, the sheriff’s office said. At about 2 a.m. Saturday morning, the Madison County Street Crimes Unit and county drug agents found and arrested Stolz in Moores Mill, the sheriff said.

    https://www.al.com/crime/2020/09/fif...-shooting.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Five indicted for capital murder in Hartselle murder-for-hire case

    By William Thornton
    AL.com

    A Morgan County grand jury indicted five people this week on capital murder charges in connection a 2020 Hartselle murder.

    Logan McKinley Delp, 36, of Madison; LaJuhn Keith Smart, 25, of Huntsville; Aaron Carter Howard, 40, of Toney; Jaclyn Elaine Skuce, 38, of Madison; and Angela Stolz, 34, of Huntsville, were all indicted on three counts of capital murder this week, according to the Morgan County District Attorney’s Office.

    WHNT is reporting that Morgan County District Attorney Scott Anderson said he will personally prosecute the case.

    Anthony Larry Sheppard, 41, was found dead in his home on Dawson Street on Friday, July 24, 2020, after police were called to the residence to perform a welfare check around 8 p.m. The call came after friends had not seen Sheppard for some time. He was shot multiple times, police said. The five were arrested last September.

    Skuce is the mother of Sheppard’s child. The two were supposed to appear in court the day of the murder for custody and visitation issues. Investigators said last year, apart from Skuce, only one other person of the five knew Sheppard personally.

    It was the city’s first murder since 2006.

    https://www.al.com/news/huntsville/2...hire-case.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Attorneys: Alleged killer in Hartselle shooting had PTSD from combat

    By Eric Fleischauer
    The Decatur Daily

    Nov. 21—A capital murder defendant charged with being the trigger man in the alleged murder-for-hire of a Hartselle man is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder relating to his military service in Iraq, according to his lawyers, and the court this month ordered that he undergo a mental evaluation.

    Logan McKinley Delp, 37, is one of five defendants charged with capital murder in the July 24, 2020, shooting death of Anthony Larry Sheppard, 41, of Dawson Street in Hartselle. Police allege that Jaclyn Elaine Skuce, 39, of Madison, used a fake Facebook account to reach Delp, and that she hired him for $30,000. Delp shot Sheppard multiple times, police allege.

    According to the motion filed this month by Delp's lawyers, Christy Miller and Brian White, their client served in the U.S. Army from 2001 to 2008, including 18 months in Iraq where "he was engaged in regular combat situations with hostile enemy combatants including close quarter combat."

    Delp said he was exposed to improvised explosive devices eight times, including one that exploded under the military vehicle he occupied, according to the motion.

    "The Defendant advised upon returning home from his military services overseas, he experienced numerous symptoms commonly associated with (PTSD), including depression, anxiety, insomnia which lasted for two to three days at a time, night sweats, and vivid reoccurring nightmares," the lawyers wrote.

    He also suffered from migraines and tinnitus due to the explosions, the motion asserts.

    Delp was diagnosed through the Department of Veteran Affairs with PTSD and with depression and anxiety associated with PTSD, according to the motion.

    "Based on our experience with the Defendant, it appears that the Defendant could be mentally deficient and it is possible that he does not appreciate the gravity of his actions," according to the motion. "Based on our experience with the Defendant, it appears that due to his mental condition he is unable to fully assist in our preparation of a defense to the charges."

    Morgan County Circuit Judge Jennifer Howell granted the defense attorneys' motion to have their client undergo a mental evaluation.

    Howell ordered that the evaluation be conducted by the Alabama Department of Mental Health on an outpatient basis, and that Delp — who is in Morgan County Jail with no bail — be transported by the Sheriff's Office to appropriate facilities to complete the evaluation.

    "The examining psychiatrist or psychologist shall reconstruct a clinical picture of the Defendant's mental state at the time of the alleged offense and assess the Defendant's present mental condition," Howell ordered.

    Delp was charged with Sheppard's murder Sept. 2, 2020, more than a month after Sheppard's death and about two weeks after Huntsville police arrested Delp for possession of a sawed-off shotgun.

    According to a motion in Madison County Circuit Court to revoke Delp's bond on several previous drug charges, Delp was acting aggressively at a veterinarian's office and as he departed, employees watching on surveillance video saw him "removing a sawed-off shotgun from the pickup and placing it under his shirt." The motion said employees also heard Delp yell he was going to the animal shelter.

    Huntsville police were called and the weapon was recovered during a traffic stop, according to the motion.

    Delp was in Madison County Metro Jail when he was charged in the Hartselle slaying.

    In another arrest, on June 17, 2020, Huntsville police said Delp was in a room at the Budgetel Inn along with "multiple females and used needles." He was charged with trafficking methamphetamine. "He was also charged with the loaded Smith and Wesson found on the floor, for which he did not have a permit," according to the motion to revoke his bond.

    According to Hartselle police, surveillance video from Sheppard's residence showed a white male approaching the front door, shooting the victim and fleeing in a sedan. Police said they found Sheppard dead on the dining room floor with multiple gunshot wounds.

    Delp was charged after Hartselle police sent shell casings found at Sheppard's house to the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network. They matched casings found in a May 16, 2020, shooting in Madison County, and police said they eventually traced the gun to Delp.

    Another defendant in Sheppard's slaying, Lajuhn Keith Smart Jr., 25, was questioned by police while in the Madison County Jail on Aug. 31, 2020.

    "Smart explained that on or about July 24, he, Aaron Carter Howard, Logan Delp and Angela Stolz went to Hartselle as a group to commit the murder of Sheppard. Smart said Delp drove to the address in question and walked to the door and shot Sheppard.

    Smart said he got into the driver's seat and drove away to Huntsville. He said Stolz remained in the back seat of the vehicle and Aaron Howard drove separately while acting as a look-out," according to an application for a search warrant signed by Hartselle police Lt. Alan McDearmond.

    In another affidavit, authorities described their interview with Skuce, who is the mother of a child she had with Sheppard and who police allege hired Delp to kill Sheppard.

    "Skuce advised (Hartselle police investigator Tania) Burgess that Sheppard had made several threats to her in the past, to include making threats of sexually assaulting their child," the Aug. 4, 2020, affidavit said. "Due to the pending custody issues with the child, investigators believe it is possible that Skuce was in some way involved with the death of Sheppard." Skuce said she had a relationship with Sheppard from 2011 to 2015 but they never married.

    Howard, 40, Stolz, 34, Smart and Skuce also face charges of capital murder in Sheppard's death. Trial dates have not been scheduled for any of the defendants.

    https://news.yahoo.com/attorneys-all...141500109.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Judge to decide whether to grant bail to capital murder defendant

    By Eric Fleischauer
    The Decatur Daily

    Sep. 25—A judge who has been criticized for being too lenient in allowing defendants to post bond, including the unusual release this year of a capital murder defendant, on Friday will hear arguments on whether another capital murder defendant should be able to get out of jail.

    Aaron Carter Howard, 41, of Toney, has been held in the Morgan County Jail without bond for more than two years as he awaits trial in connection with the July 24, 2020, shooting death of Anthony Larry Sheppard, 41, at Sheppard's Hartselle home.

    Howard's attorney, Carl Cole, this month filed a motion arguing that despite his client being charged with a capital offense, Circuit Judge Jennifer Howell should allow him to post bond.

    District Attorney Scott Anderson disagrees.

    "I have yet to see a capital murder case where bond is appropriate," Anderson said last week. "I can't fathom any circumstance where bond would be appropriate in this one."

    According to Hartselle police, Jaclyn Elaine Skuce, 40, set up a fake Facebook account and used it to hire Logan McKinley Delp to kill Sheppard, the father of her child, for $30,000. Police say Delp was accompanied by Howard, Angela Stolz and Lajuhn Keith Smart Jr. when he went to Sheppard's Dawson Road home and shot him multiple times.

    Smart was questioned by police while in the Madison County Jail on an unrelated charge on Aug. 31, 2020, and gave his account of what happened.

    "Smart explained that on or about July 24, he, Aaron Carter Howard, Logan Delp and Angela Stolz went to Hartselle as a group to commit the murder of Sheppard. Smart said Delp drove to the address in question and walked to the door and shot Sheppard.

    Smart said he got into the driver's seat and drove away to Huntsville.

    "He said Stolz remained in the back seat of the vehicle and Aaron Howard drove separately while acting as a look-out," according to an application for a search warrant signed by Hartselle police Lt. Alan McDearmond.

    All five defendants alleged to have been involved in the shooting are charged with capital murder and all are being held without bond. Skuce and Delp, 38, are from Madison. Smart, 26, and Stoltz, 35, are from Huntsville.

    Capital murder defendants are almost always held without bond, but Howard's attorney said his client should be an exception.

    In the motion to set bond, Cole said his client was being held without bond solely because he had been charged with capital murder.

    Cole wrote "that the allegations made against this defendant are that he served as a 'lookout.' It is undisputed that he did not pull the trigger. In fact, it is undisputed that he was not at the scene of the crime."

    Cole said that none of the other defendants implicated Howard in the crime during preliminary hearings, and that "the word 'lookout' was contrived by the state ... ."

    Cole said Howard's trial is unlikely to be held before 2024 and may not go forward until 2025, and that he has family in the area, "a place to live and a job opportunity upon his release."

    "He fully looks forward to and anticipates the opportunity to adjudicate to his innocence of the allegations made against him by the state and has no desire to avoid a trial of this matter," Cole wrote. "He simply does not want to stay in jail for potentially five years waiting for the case to come to trial given the facts of this matter. ... (He is) a non-shooter, linked to the alleged crime by the flimsiest of allegations... ."

    Cole argued that Howard's release on bond could be conditioned on electronic monitoring, supervision by the Morgan County Community Corrections Program and random drug screens.

    Anderson last week said the prosecution did not arbitrarily charge Howard with a capital offense, and that the charge should preclude his release on bond.

    "We didn't just dream the charge up," he said. "There's been a grand jury that has said there's probable cause to believe he was involved."

    Previous release

    Howell has released a capital murder defendant on bond before.

    In January she set bond at $150,000 for 20-year-old Tennessee resident Mark Anthony Stephens Jr., charged with capital murder for shooting a Huntsville business owner during a robbery on Sandlin Road in Decatur.

    The DA's office objected, filing Stephens' written statement for Decatur police in which he admitted "luring the guy to the apartments, so I could rob him. ... I then pulled out the gun and told the guy to give me the money."

    He said in the statement that he was ostensibly selling the victim a cellphone, but the victim grabbed at Stephens' gun during the robbery and "it accidentally went off." Stephens was released from jail, but Howell later revoked bond when he was charged with driving under the influence of drugs in Tennessee.

    The DA's office last month gave notice that it will seek the death penalty for Stephens.

    Bond in capital cases

    Cole in his motion to set bond for Howard argued that neither the state Constitution nor the Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure prohibit a capital murder defendant from being released on bail, a matter which he said is within the court's discretion.

    The Constitution provides "that all persons shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capital offenses, when the proof is evident or the presumption great; and that excessive bail shall not in any case be required."

    The Rules of Criminal Procedure provide recommended ranges for pretrial bond. For capital felonies the range is $50,000 to "no bail allowed," and for non-capital murders the range is $15,000 to $1.5 million.

    Cole cited a 2014 state Supreme Court decision for the proposition that bail can be granted for a capital offense "in appropriate cases and under certain circumstances."

    That decision, which involved a Limestone County capital murder charge against Joel Patrick Moyers, reversed a Court of Criminal Appeals ruling that required the Circuit Court to set bail after the prosecution gave notice that it did not intend to seek the death penalty.

    The Supreme Court ruled that the Circuit Court was not required to set bail in a capital case, whether or not the death penalty was sought, and that the presumption in such cases was that no bail should be allowed. However, the Supreme Court said the trial judge can only deny bail in a capital case if there is clear evidence that the offense has been committed, that the accused is guilty and that he would probably be sentenced to either death or life in prison without parole.

    Cole also argued that Howard "has no criminal history, which would warrant his current detention status, nor does the defendant pose a threat to the community."

    Howard has been found guilty of other felonies in Alabama, and at least one in Michigan.

    In 2013, a Madison County grand jury indicted him for possessing a revolver despite previously having been convicted in Michigan for assault with a deadly weapon. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years of probation.

    In 2017, Howard pleaded guilty in Madison County to first-degree receiving stolen property and was sentenced to two years of probation, which became a prison sentence when the court revoked his probation.

    In 2019, Howard pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance.

    Other bond decisions

    The clash between the DA and Howell over her release of the capital murder defendant in January was not the only time this year the two have been at odds over her decisions on setting bond.

    Raymond Matthew McKinney, 35, was arrested Dec. 5 after being indicted by a Morgan County grand jury for sexual contact with a child under the age of 12 and for sexual contact by forcible compulsion of the same victim. Howell released McKinney from jail on his own recognizance on May 20.

    On Aug. 4, while out on bail, McKinney was arrested in Franklin County and charged with first-degree rape and incest involving a 16-year-old female. Howell revoked his bond the next day.

    Anderson was critical of Howell for releasing McKinney, especially without first notifying his office, but Howell pointed out that the DA's office knew a motion to reduce bond was pending and failed to respond to it.

    In March, Anderson complained that his office and the Morgan County Sheriff's Office had to extradite Christopher Mark Sherwood, charged with first-degree theft, from other states three times, yet on three occasions Howell had released the defendant from jail on his own recognizance. In that case as with McKinney, Anderson said, the DA's office received no notice before Howell released the defendant.

    Howard's lawyer on Friday said it's easy to criticize judges on their bond decisions, but not always fair.

    "I expect any DA is going to object and either not want a bond, or want the highest bond possible and any defense attorney is going to go the other direction because that's the job. We are advocates," Cole said. "But a judge doesn't have the luxury of being an advocate. A judge has got to referee the two opposing advocates and a lot of times that isn't easy."

    Cole said he cringes when judges come under public attack for decisions on the pretrial release of defendants from jail.

    "Bonds, like any legal decisions, should be free from politics and based solely on the law," he said. "It's not supposed to be the most popular decision. It's supposed to be the most proper decision. Sometimes — a lot of times actually — the job is to do the unpopular thing.

    "If we ever get to a point where judges can't get past the noise and the politics, we are essentially letting the hecklers in the stands umpire the ball game."

    https://news.yahoo.com/judge-decide-...124200917.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Judge to decide on setting bond in Hartselle murder case

    By Michael Wetzel
    For the Enquirer

    Morgan County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Howell on Friday told lawyers and defendants that it would be “a few days” before she makes a ruling on a motion to set bond for a capital murder defendant in an alleged murder-for-hire scheme in Hartselle in 2020.

    Carl Cole, defense attorney for Aaron Carter Howard, 41, of Toney, made a motion that his client be released from Morgan County Jail on bail because the state has a weak case against his client, and it might be four years from the time of his arrest until a trial is held.

    Prosecutors describe Howard as a “lookout” who was involved in the July 24, 2020, shooting death of Anthony Larry Sheppard, 41, at Sheppard’s home in Hartselle.

    According to Hartselle police, Jaclyn Elaine Skuce, 40, set up a fake Facebook account and used it to hire Logan McKinley Delp to kill Sheppard, the father of her child, for $30,000. Police say Delp was accompanied by Howard, Angela Stolz and Lajuhn Keith Smart Jr. when he went to Sheppard’s Dawson Road home and shot him multiple times.

    All of the defendants were indicted for capital murder, which carries a penalty of death or life without the possibility of parole.

    At Friday’s hearing on Howard’s motion to set bond, an FBI agent investigating the case testified he received a postcard in April from the jailed Howard which he perceived as a “threat.”

    Special Agent Christopher Hendon, lead investigator, read the postcard in court. It said, “How do you live with yourself? Owing your life to a system Chewing you up and spitting you out. Have you heard that all the echoes from the past come to light as truth?

    Know the difference!”

    It was signed “Pyro 1%er, WOSMC.” In previous hearings since Howard’s arrest in 2020, “Pyro” was established as a nickname Howard used.

    Hendon testified that “1%ers” are a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who want others to believe they disobey the law. He said it originated from the 1960s when the American Motorcycle Association said 99% of motorcyclists are law-abiding citizens.

    Prosecutors said Howard was a member of the Wheels of Soul motorcycle club. Hendon testified a WOS jacket and vest were found among Howard’s possessions during the investigation.

    After the hearing, attended by all five co-defendants, Cole said, “I prefer that any of my clients not write a letter to an FBI agent or to law enforcement.”

    In support of his motion to set bond, Cole argued to Howell that it was established in an earlier preliminary hearing that his client “did not pull the trigger and was not at the crime scene” when Sheppard was killed. “There’s no evidence my client was there,” he said. “Skuce apparently didn’t know who he was.”

    Cole said his client has lived in north Alabama most of his life and would live with his brother if he is released from jail. He asked the judge to consider home confinement or an ankle monitor for Howard.

    “He likely won’t be the first tried and it could be early 2024 or possibly 2025 before he is,” Cole said. “If bond is not granted he will be sitting in there four or five years.”

    Assistant District Attorney Garrick Vickery argued Howard shouldn’t be released on bail because the investigation showed he went with the co-defendants two times before the shooting to make sure they had the correct house.

    “He was an integral part of (the murder.) He was scoping the location, providing assistance, talking to the shooter beforehand about alibi witnesses,” Vickery said after the hearing.

    Howell said she would review the 87-page transcript of the preliminary hearing before making a ruling on Cole’s request.

    Attorneys for Delp, Skuce and Stolz asked the judge to consider about a dozen motions concerning pretrial discovery, jury selection and other matters.

    Skuce and Smart have also filed motions to set bond. Howell scheduled hearings on those motions for Nov. 18.

    https://hartselleenquirer.com/2022/1...e-murder-case/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Edited:

    Judge Howell denies bond for 'lookout' in murder-for-hire case

    By Eric Fleischauer
    The Decatur Daily

    Oct. 21—A Morgan County circuit judge, criticized by prosecutors for letting a capital murder defendant out on bond earlier this year, on Thursday ruled that another capital murder defendant will remain in jail without bond even though he was not the shooter.

    Aaron Carter Howard, 41, of Toney, has been in the Morgan County Jail without bond for more than two years as he awaits trial in connection with the July 24, 2020, shooting death of Anthony Larry Sheppard, 41, at Sheppard's Hartselle home.

    Howard's lawyer, Carl Cole, filed a motion last month asking that Judge Jennifer Howell set bond for his client and she held a hearing on the motion Sept. 30.

    According to Hartselle police, Jaclyn Elaine Skuce, 40, paid Logan McKinley Delp $30,000 to kill Sheppard, the father of her child. Police say Delp was accompanied by Angela Stolz and Lajuhn Keith Smart Jr. when he went to Sheppard's Dawson Road home and shot him multiple times. According to police, Howard assisted in the crime by being a lookout.

    All five defendants alleged to have been involved in the shooting are charged with capital murder and all are being held without bond. Skuce and Delp, 38, are from Madison. Smart, 26, and Stoltz, 35, are from Huntsville. Trial has not been scheduled in any of the cases, but in Thursday's order, Howell scheduled a Nov. 18 status conference for all five.

    Cole had argued there was no allegation that Howard had pulled the trigger or even that he had been at the scene of the crime, and that Howard's trial may not take place before 2025.

    In her order, the judge went through multiple factors specified in the Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure as being relevant to bond decisions.

    One factor was whether there is a probability the defendant will be convicted. Howell said there was such a probability based on his alleged role as an accomplice to the other four defendants.

    "It is alleged that the Defendant served as a 'lookout' while the crime was ongoing, that he surveyed the victim's home on more than one occasion prior to the crime, and that after the crime, he disposed of the vehicle that was used by his co-defendants during the commission of the crime," Howell wrote, and that Howard "was paid for his assistance in his crime."

    She also, however, pointed out weaknesses in evidence thus far produced by the prosecution.

    "Though the State refers to the Defendant as a 'lookout,' it should be noted that there is no testimony or evidence currently before the Court to support this assertion," Howell wrote. "The Defendant was not at the scene of the crime, but at some other, undetermined location. None of the co-defendants allege that he was present at the scene, and none of them called him a 'lookout.'"

    Howell also placed some emphasis on testimony by FBI Special Agent Christopher Hendon at the Sept. 30 bond hearing. Hendon testified he received a postcard in April from the jailed Howard which he perceived as a threat.

    "The Court finds that the Defendant's letter can certainly be construed as a threat to Investigator Hendon," Howell wrote.

    Cole on Thursday said he anticipated that Howell would deny bond as a result of Hendon's testimony.

    "After the hearing and the revelation of the letter to the FBI agent, I can't say that I'm surprised. In fact, I expected it," he said.

    https://news.yahoo.com/judge-howell-...124200847.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Case of Alabama father killed on day of custody hearing in alleged murder-for-hire headed to trial

    By David Gambino
    The Decatur Daily

    The alleged shooter in a 2020 murder-for-hire plot that left a Hartselle man dead is expected to be the first, among five accused, to stand trial on Oct. 16, according to his defense attorney.

    Logan Delp, 39, is charged with capital murder in the shooting death of Anthony Larry Sheppard, 41. Hartselle police found Sheppard dead inside his residence the same day he was supposed to appear in court to hash out custody and visitation issues with the mother of his child, Jaclyn Skuce, 41.

    Skuce is accused of paying Delp $30,000 to kill Sheppard after she found Delp through a fake Facebook account, according to investigators. She’s charged with capital murder.

    Three others accused of being accomplices are also charged with capital murder: Angela Stolz, 37; Aaron Howard, 42; and LaJuhn Smart, 27.

    All five have remained in Morgan County Jail without bond while awaiting trial. On Wednesday, they shuffled with shackles into Circuit Judge Jennifer Howell’s courtroom for a status conference on the cases against them.

    A court order to schedule the trial had not yet been filed as of Thursday afternoon, according to court records; however, Delp’s attorney, Brian White, said the parties decided to begin jury selection on Oct. 16 at 9 a.m.

    “Then we’ll begin the trial in earnest on Oct. 21,” he said.

    District Attorney Scott Anderson said the case looks to be in “a good posture” to proceed to trial.

    “With capital murder cases, everyone has to take extra precaution to make certain that all the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed,” he said. “If they aren’t, then we have to back up and make sure that we have everyone and everything in place.”

    Robert Tuten, one of Stolz’s attorneys, said his client is looking forward to the case moving along.

    “You know, the evidence is shaping up to look like she’s not as directly involved as everyone first thought when everyone was first arrested,” he said. “Apparently, she was not present when the actual person was killed, so we’re kind of working from that theory at this point.”

    Bond attempts

    Bond for capital murder cases is rare in Alabama. Nevertheless, attorneys for Skuce and Howard have tried to secure bond for their clients.

    In a 2022 motion to set bond for Howard, attorney Carl Cole said his client was being held without bond solely because he had been charged with capital murder.

    Cole wrote “that the allegations made against this defendant are that he served as a ‘lookout.’ It is undisputed that he did not pull the trigger. In fact, it is undisputed that he was not at the scene of the crime.”

    At the time, Anderson said the prosecution did not arbitrarily charge Howard with a capital offense, and that the charge should preclude his release on bond.

    In her court order regarding the bond motion, Howell listed several reasons for denying Howard bond: He has a criminal history including drug possession and an out-of-state conviction for assault with a dangerous weapon; Delp told investigators that he used Howard to “get girls and bring them to (him),” thereby indicating a criminal reputation; Howard’s co-defendants said he was paid for assisting in the crime; and the probability of a conviction.

    In Skuce’s case, her attorneys in 2022 attached several letters in support of her character, mainly from community Christian organizations with whom she apparently took classes while incarcerated.

    Most notably, her oldest daughter wrote a letter addressed to Howell.

    “The last time I got to see her was in our living room, over two years ago, in the middle of the night with my mother in handcuffs,” the letter reads. “Our family has been torn apart ... . She is a wonderful mother, and all she has done is protect and love us.”

    Howell ultimately denied the bond.

    “There is strong circumstantial evidence regarding motive, the co-defendants who were captured on video shooting Sheppard implicated the defendant, and the defendant admitted that she sought out profile pictures with guns to find someone to contact and that she paid someone to help her,” Howell wrote in her ruling.

    https://www.al.com/news/2024/02/case...-to-trial.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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