George Douglas Althouse
Summary of Offense:
George Douglas Althouse was a Special Agent of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) assigned to the Birmingham, Alabama office. As part of his duties, Althouse worked on an investigation with Sergeant Mark Hobbs of the Hoover, Alabama Police Department. Hobbs and Althouse planned to meet on the evening of Thursday, May 28, 1992 between 10:00 and 11:00 p.m. to discuss search warrants to be executed the following day. Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputy Naylor Braswell, Althouse's housemate, agreed to accompany Althouse to the meeting with Hobbs. Braswell and Althouse left for the meeting shortly before 10:00 p.m. in Braswell's undercover automobile, a black Model Z-28 Camaro. En route, they stopped at a Chevron service station. Braswell went into the station to obtain the telephone number for a pizza delivery source. Althouse remained in the car. During the brief interval, Althouse appears to have made a phone call to his girlfriend from the car's cellular phone. While inside the service station, Braswell suddenly observed an individual sitting in the driver's seat of the Camaro and pointing a gun to Althouse's head. Moments later Braswell heard several shots and saw Althouse exit the car. Althouse fired his weapon at the Camaro as it sped away. Althouse died shortly thereafter from gunshot wounds.
Testimony offered at trial revealed that prior to the murder Dedrick Smith had told several individuals, including Eugene Clemons, that he needed an engine for his Z-28 Camaro. On the evening of the murder, Smith, Clemons and a third individual, Kenny Reed, drove to a shopping center looking for a suitable car for Smith. Failing to find such a vehicle, they proceeded onto the highway. When Clemons spotted a Z-28 Camaro in a Chevron service station, they stopped and Clemons, carrying a gun, exited the car. Smith and Reed were driving to a nearby parking lot to wait for Clemons when they heard several gunshots and observed Clemons, driving the Camaro, pull out of the Chevron station at high speed. Clemons drove to the house of a friend, Herman Shannon. After examining the contents of the car, Clemons and Shannon concluded that it was likely a police vehicle. Both Clemons and Smith subsequently left town. Clemons was arrested in Cleveland, Ohio on June 6. Smith was arrested in Birmingham several days later. Both were convicted by a jury of murdering Agent Althouse.
Clemons was sentenced to death in 1994.
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