Posted on 04/25/2012 12:24:20 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - The Mobile County District Attorney's Office says Mobile police have made an arrest in the beating of Matthew Owens.
Authorities say the suspect is 44-year-old Terry Rawls. They say he is charged with first degree assault.
Police say Owens was beaten severely with bats, bricks and a paint can. The attack happened on Saturday, April 21 in the evening on Delmar Drive in Mobile.
Cpl. Chris Levy with Mobile police said their investigation shows the incident stems from an ongoing dispute between the Owens and Rawls.
Police also wanted to release that no one has confirmed that this attack was in retaliation for Trayvon Martin, as one witness reported.
(Excerpt) Read more at fox10tv.com ...
BTW he is probably not big enough to be an SEC caliber football player.
Matthew Owens Threatened Kids With Knives Leading Up To Assault, Neighbor Says
Tensions erupted in Mobile, Alabama when an angry mob reportedly composed of African Americans brutally assaulted Matthew Owens in public on a Saturday following a confrontation between Owens and a group of black kids playing basketball in in the street. According to Owen’s neighbors, he may have cursed at the kids and threatened them with knives leading up to the assault. The case has already drawn national attention online, largely because several witnesses claim that a member of the mob stated that the beating was “Justice for Trayvon [Martin]” as they walked away.
One witness said he saw Matthew Owens yell racial slurs at the group of children and even putt out two knives, according to WPMI.
I am George Zimerman.
I am not worthy to be Andrew Breitbart.
Thank you for the excellent article. So, this dirtbag was convicted of various charges, then is convicted twice with 15-year sentences with him only serving one year and two years respectively? Incredible. And as for this being blown out of proportion, Mayor, have you seen the pictures of the man in the hospital? Oh wait, he’s white so no one should give a rat’s azz. This is far from the last time we’ll be hearing about this sort of thing. And obama is off playing patty cake with Jimmy Fallon. Pathetic.
He said Owens had a dispute with neighborhood children who were playing basketball on the street. They told their parents, who were having a large get-together with friends.
Really, the party just kind of moved down there, Levy said.
It was not the first time violence erupted between Rawls and Owens. Levy said the 2 traded racist epithets in July 2009 and that Rawls assaulted Owens. While a witness initially told police that Rawls had used a baseball bat, Levy said the suspect denied that, insisting he had only used his hands. The witness later said he could not be sure a bat was used, Levy said.
At any rate, Levy said, the District Attorneys Office reduced the charge to third-degree assault and dropped it when Owens declined to pursue it.
Rawls first-degree assault conviction occurred in 2000, when Circuit Judge Joseph Rusty Johnston sentenced him to 15 years, with 2 of those to be served in prison and the balance to be suspended.
Police arrested him again in 2004 on a pair of third-degree burglary charges, records show, though one of those was dropped. After Rawls pleaded guilty, Johnston sentenced him to 15 years, though only one of those was to be served in confinement, with the rest suspended.
Prior to those charges, Rawls was arrested and convicted of first-degree theft of property and firing a weapon into a building or vehicle, according to court records.
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