TALLADEGA COUNTY — A Talladega man was sentenced to 24 years in prison Wednesday morning by Circuit Judge Julian King after having previously pleaded guilty to murder.Fletcher Embry, 41, was charged with killing Danny Levelle Horne, 44, in front of Stemley Auto Sales and Service on Alabama 34 at about 2:15 p.m. Aug. 5 by running over him with his car. Embry was intoxicated at the time of the accident, with a blood alcohol level of .282 and several beer cans were found inside his 1992 Honda after the accident. Embry was found passed out behind the wheel.
Horne was an employee at Stemley Auto Sales, and was apparently either getting into or out of a pickup truck on the lot when he was hit.
Horne was struck with such force that both his legs were severed near the knees. Embry’s vehicle caromed off several other parked cars on the lot before finally coming to rest a good distance from Horne’s body.
When he entered his guilty plea about a week before he would have faced a jury, Embry apologized to members of Horne’s family in the courtroom. Horne’s father said they had known the Embry family for years, and his son had worked on Embry’s car on several occasions.
Across the hall Wednesday, Circuit Judge Bo Hollingsworth sentenced Corey Malone, 20, to eight years in prison after Malone was convicted by a jury of arson in the second degree. He used an accelerant to light on fire a sofa in a residence in Childersburg.
Malone had been out on bond pending sentencing, but was arrested Sunday afternoon for assault in the first degree, after allegedly shooting someone in Childersburg.
Also Wednesday, Hollingsworth sentenced Jeremy Mahon, 23, to five years in prison, reverse split, three years probation and 18 months to serve, for custodial interference.
Mahon and a co-defendant struck up a relationship via computer with a 16-year-old girl in Munford, and were arrested in a taxi with the girl in the driveway of her home. Had the victim not been a willing participant, the charges would likely have been more serious.
Hollingsworth also sentenced Mary Hay Kruithof, 42, of Fairhope to 12 months in jail, suspended, two years probation for embezzling money from a local Cub Scout Troop in 2001. Kruithof produced a check for $3,700 in restitution in open court.
Kruithof and her husband were initially arrested for theft in the first degree, but she told the grand jury that indicted her that she was solely responsible for the theft. Her husband was released.
Kruithof agreed to make full restitution, but pleaded guilty to theft of property in the third degree, which is a misdemeanor.
Also in court Wednesday, King sentenced:
O Dorothy Jean Smith, 54, to six years in prison for possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and public intoxication.
O Clarence Leonard, 35, to 23 months in prison, reverse split, 24 months probation and nine months to serve, for possession of a controlled substance and carrying a pistol without a permit.
O Jonathan Floyd Holdridge, 46, to 23 months in prison, suspended, 36 months probation, for unlawful possession of a controlled substance. A charge of manufacture of a controlled substance in the first degree was dismissed.
O Jakie Lee Ricks, 30, to 23 months in prison, suspended, 36 months probation, for unlawful possession of a controlled substance.
O Michelle Simpkins, 29, to 23 months in prison, suspended, 36 months probation, for unlawful possession of a controlled substance. Two misdemeanor counts were dismissed.
O Alicia Chappell, 29, to 23 months in prison, suspended, 36 months probation, for unlawful possession of a controlled substance.
O Robert Brent Smith, 26, to 23 months in prison, suspended, 36 months probation, for unlawful possession of a controlled substance. A charge of manufacture of a controlled substance in the first degree was dismissed.
O Harold James Bunt II, 24, to 28 months, reverse split, 24 months probation, nine months to serve, for burglary in the third degree.
O Deangelo Shears, 22, to 23 months, split, six months to serve, 36 months probation for burglary in the third degree.
Hollingsworth sentenced:
O Terry Lee Evans, 57, to five years in prison for fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance.
O Carmine Cordell Whetstone, 32, to 15 years, five years and three years, respectively, for trafficking in cocaine, possession of marijuana in the first degree and certain persons not allowed to carry a pistol.
O Tyrone Terrell Jordan, 54, two three years and 12 months, suspended, three years and two years probation, respectively, for possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana in the second degree.
O Chris McDaniel, 24, to six year and three years in prison, respectively, for manufacture of a controlled substance in the second degree and possession of a controlled substance.
O Crystal Brasher, 22, to 30 months, suspended, three years probation for possession of a controlled substance.
O James C. Pearson, 53, two years in prison each, concurrent on six counts of forgery in the second degree.
O Ronald Twymon, 23, to eight years, concurrent, on four counts of distribution of a controlled substance.
O Daniel Price, 22, to 30 months, suspended, for burglary in the third degree.
O Terry J. Amos, 45, to 123 months in prison, concurrent, for five counts of forgery in the second degree.
