Houston County Courthouse closed after water pipe bursts

Ruby Kelley left the Houston County Courthouse disappointed Monday morning.

Kelley, who traveled from her home in Taylor with a friend for court, planned to testify in a trial for the prosecution. But Kelley, like many others Monday morning, was turned away from the building.

Jurors were also notified and told not to come to court until Tuesday morning. Officials closed the doors to the public after a water pipe on the fourth floor burst early Monday morning, causing several inches of water to flood the top floor of the building. Water trickled down, causing some damage on all four floors of the courthouse.

“I just think it’s an inconvenience, somebody could’ve called,” Kelley said. “I’m sure if they had court and I didn’t show up they’d be coming after me.”

Circuit Court Judge Lawson Little said jurors are expected to attend court as usual at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Houston County Maintenance Supervisor Sean Curtis said a preliminary estimated cost of the damages could reach $10,000. The water leak originated from a pipe in the ceiling outside Little’s courtroom. Curtis said he was called around 3 a.m., and the water flow was stopped within 20 minutes.

“It appeared the bolt broke, and then it blew out the seal,” Curtis said.

Several trash cans collected dripping water in the third floor courtroom where lawyers would’ve likely started selecting jurors in front of Circuit Judge Ed Jackson in a scheduled murder trial. Jury selection was delayed in the murder case filed against Robert Yancey Wills, 40, in the death of a 15-year-old girl during a high-speed pursuit by Houston County Sheriff’s deputies. The teenager was a passenger in the vehicle Wills was driving.

“We have tried cases under unusual circumstances before, and this wouldn’t be the most unusual,” Jackson said. “When they were remodeling the DA’s office on the second floor, the floor of our courtroom would be shaking.”

Jackson inspected his courtroom Monday morning and looked at the possibility of using former Circuit Judge Jerry White’s courtroom for the trial instead.

Wayne Anderson, a supervisor with ServPro, a fire and flood restoration company, said he stepped into about 4 inches of water on the fourth floor when he arrived around 5 a.m. He said workers used “shop vacs” to suck up the water and poked holes in water logged ceiling tiles. The company had 40 dehumidifiers and 100 fans on hand to start drying out the furniture and interior of the building. Officials started using the fans Monday afternoon.

“All this wood, and everything that got wet ... all those benches might buckle and it could create mold inside,” Anderson said.

Houston County Commission Chairman Mark Culver said five of the seven courtrooms in the building had at least some water damage.

“We’ve got insurance, and this is what you pay insurance for to cover things like this,” Culver said.