No bond set for man accused of shooting Eight Mile store owner multiple times, following jurisdiction controversy
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — After six days on the run, Mobile County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Rashad Norwood on Sunday night.
Monday morning, he faced a judge who denied him bond.
Norwood is accused of shooting the owner of the T&J Food Mart, which sits on Shelton Beach Road, multiple times before robbing his store.
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The owner has been in the hospital recovering, and customers hoping for a speedy recovery have left a “get-well-soon” poster outside the store. An employee told WKRG News 5 off-camera on Monday afternoon that he’s since been discharged and is in much better shape.
Even though the crime happened in Eight Mile which is Prichard’s jurisdiction, the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office is the lead agency investigating the case.
“The sheriff, as a constitutional officer, has jurisdiction over the entire county, including concurrent jurisdiction within any municipality,” Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood said.
This case has caused tension between the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office, the Sheriff’s Office, and the Prichard Police Department.
Jurisdiction Conflict
Last week, Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch said that his office has been having to pick up cases from the Prichard Police Department since they weren’t being thoroughly investigated.
Prichard’s Chief of Police Walter Knight wrote in a letter describing an ongoing issue between the department and the DA and Sheriff’s Office with their ability to sign warrants to get the suspects arrested.
Knight responded to Burch’s comments by sending MCSO and the DA’s office a strongly worded letter.
Following the letter from Prichard, Blackwood issued a statement, saying that it’s not the DA’s office job to sign warrants for a police department.
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What is the role of the District Attorney’s Office?
“There was a statement in Chief Knight’s letter that the district attorney’s office issued a warrant; that’s absolutely false,” Blackwood said. “What we do is approve felony charges for the officer to then go to the magistrate’s office where the warrant is sworn out.”
Blackwood added that the bigger issue with the department is that the police officers or detectives responsible for signing the warrants don’t end up doing so, so the cases ultimately become dismissed.
According to Blackwood, Norwood had a prior felony domestic violence charge in January of this year, but that warrant was never signed.
“We’ve identified at least 18 cases over the last few months where this has happened,” he said.
He explained the District Attorney’s role in getting a suspect in Metro Jail.
First, the police department or agency is responsible for putting together a narrative with the facts and other allegations. Then, the District Attorney’s Office reviews it, and if there’s probable cause to charge the suspect, they issue a warrant.
Finally, the investigator has to go to the magistrate’s office to sign the warrant then the suspect will be arrested.
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Blackwood hopes the Norwood case can be an example of how the agencies need to work better together.
“In working together with the Prichard Police Department, when we do work together, it just makes the cases better, and, you know, we’re able to better prosecute,” he said.
Blackwood said he plans to hold a meeting with the Prichard Police Department on Wednesday.
As far as Norwood, he is expected to be in court Tuesday morning for an arraignment hearing.
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