A father who police say used his young son as a shield against gunfire during an Adamsville burglary was captured in Birmingham early today.
The Birmingham Police Department's Crime Reduction Team and U.S. Marshals took Rickie Rashee Walls into custody about 1:30 a.m., said Birmingham police spokesman Lt. Sean Edwards. Investigators got word that Walls might be hiding out at a home in the 100 block of Elm Street S.W.
Law enforcement officers staked out the house for several hours, until they were able to confirm he was inside, Edwards said. He was taken to the Adamsville City Jail and will be transferred to the Jefferson County Jail.
Walls and his accomplice, Ronnie Williams,were formally charged Wednesday, one day after the incident in Adamsville. Police were called to a home in the 3400 block of Poplar Lane at 11:15 a.m. Tuesday on a burglary in progress. Joe Hicks was cutting his grass when he noticed a Jeep Liberty in the driveway of his next door neighbor. He wasn't sure if it was supposed to be there, so he watched.
Next thing Hicks knew, the Jeep had backed up to his neighbor's front door. And then it pulled around the back of the house. That's when Hicks called his neighbor at work and asked him if he was expecting company. His neighbor said no, and that he was on his way home.
The homeowner surprised the burglars when he got home, and fired warning shots at them. That's when police said Walls held up his 1-year-old son as a barrier. Hicks said he doesn't know how many shots his neighbor fired, but said he heard several.
Williams ran toward the railroad tracks. Walls, with the boy in his arms, disappeared into a nearby wooded area. Adamsville police, Birmingham police and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene, as well as a tracking dog. Williams was captured along the railroad tracks.
Authorities said the boy's grandfather was cutting his grass Tuesday afternoon when a man showed up with the 1-year-old in tow. He said he was told to return the boy to the family. Police said child protective services workers have since been notified.
Both men are charged third-degree burglary and second-degree theft of property. They are being held without bond.
http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/i...d_son_as_shield.html#incart_river_mobileshort
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That commitment to being in his child's life.
this man for being there for his kid. Yeah, he used him as a human shield against a guy with a gun, but nobody's perfect, and in a few years, thisll be a funny story between the plexiglass.
the replies
. I blame the mojo