Trust Fund for Adopted Kids Created

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

Early Wednesday morning, Melanie and Byrd Billings’ family held a news conference to thank the community and investigators for their support.  Recently, the Billings were murdered in a home invasion robbery.  Nine of the adopted children (in their home) have special needs, and unfortunately, they witnessed the whole event.

The oldest children of the couple, Ashley Markham, said that a trust is now being set up for their parents’ adopted children.  It’s a good thing that an outpouring of support came from the people around the nation.  Now, papers to formalize the trust are now being drawn up.

Funeral services were complete and burial will follow at memorial gardens of Pensacola.  There were seven people behind bars due to the murders.  The investigators are saying that the robbery was well-planned, and the suspects were in and out of the house in less than 10 minutes.  Right now, they are still questioning a suspect on possible abetting and aiding charges.

Ashley Markham also said that their family will continue the legacy of their parents.  They will stay together and help adopted children as well.  In fact, “the trust money will only be used to care for children with special needs,” Markham added.

Tags: adopted, Ashley Markham, legacy, Melanie and Byrd Billing, Pensacola, robbery, suspect, trust
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Arrest: Beginning of the Criminal Justice Process

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

An arrest occurs when someone is taken into custody and that person is prohibited to move about of leave. Sometimes the use of handcuffs or physical restraint is not necessary. An arrest is already complete when the police officer tells the suspects that they’re “under arrest.” So generally, an arrest can be described as a person’s involuntary or voluntary submission to a police officer’s exercise of authority over him or her.

A police officer can only arrest a person under the following circumstances:

• *The officer personally observed a crime – for example, the officer sees an actual purse snatching,   then he or she may arrest the purse-snatcher.
• *The officer has “probable cause” – when the officer has reasonable circumstances, facts, or belief that a particular person is about to commit or committed a crime, then that person may be arrested. For example, the officer received a call reporting armed robbery in a liquor store and then he sees the suspect with a gun and cash running down the street, then that man may be arrested.
• *The officer obtained a warrant to arrest – this is a legal document issued by any magistrate or judge to allow any officer to arrest the suspect.

If this happens to you, you can question the lawfulness of your arrest including the actions of the officer. However, this battle should be fought in court together with a criminal attorney rather than fight it on the street.

Tags: arrest, criminal attorney, criminla, custody, police officer, suspect
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