DA: Officers involved in fatal shooting appear justified

Houston County’s district attorney said the fatal shooting of a drug suspect by Dothan police officers appears to be justifiable.

District Attorney Doug Valeska said Friday that he believes the actions of some Dothan police officers as they opened fire on a moving vehicle appear to be justified based on the risk they faced of being injured or killed.

“I went out there and watched the tape from the convenience store of what took place,” Valeska said. “It’s my initial opinion from what I saw on that tape what the officers did was justified in using deadly force.”

Houston County Coroner Robert Byrd said the shooting left Ashley Wright, 39, of Eden, Ga., dead from at least one gunshot wound to the chest. Byrd said an emergency room doctor at Flowers Hospital pronounced Wright dead at the ER at 9:12 p.m. Thursday. The incident started about 45 earlier as undercover narcotics officers followed a vehicle into the parking lot of the Hop-In Convenience Store at Honeysuckle Road and West Main Street.

Dothan Police Major Steve Parrish said officers got out of their cars and approached the man, informing him that he was being detained. Police said shortly before the shooting, the driver appeared to reach for a weapon as he backed his gold Nissan Maxima up in the parking lot, which prompted officers to open fire. The vehicle drove out of the parking lot and crashed in a resident’s yard on West Main Street, a few yards away from the store.

Valeska said the shooting remained under investigation by agents with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation. But Valeska said that it so far has revealed there were two weapons inside the suspect’s vehicle, including a 9mm handgun and a 45-caliber handgun, which he saw in the front of the suspect’s vehicle. Valeska said he walked through the crime scenes with ABI agents late Thursday evening.

“I observed controlled substances, which included prescription medication,” Valeska said of what he found inside the vehicle. “It’s my understanding the individual that was shot had meth on him.” 

Valeska also said there were two other men inside the vehicle with Wright. He said both of those men remained in Dothan police custody late Friday. He said it’s unclear whether the two other men would face any criminal charges.

Parrish said the two officers were both injured after they were struck by the vehicle, but were later treated and released for their injuries from Southeast Alabama Medical Center.

Valeska said he will review the completed investigation after it’s turned over to him by the agents with the ABI to determine whether it was a legitimate shooting.

“So far it appears to me the officers were at risk and had a right to use deadly physical force, but that’s a preliminary opinion at this time because I don’t have all the reports,” Valeska said. “Regretfully, a human life was lost, but the other side is those officers were in danger.” 

Narendar “Nick” Poddutoori, who was working as a clerk at the Hop-In store at the time of the shooting, said he saw the incident unfold within a 20 to 30 second time period. As Poddutoori stood behind the counter of the store, he saw a pickup truck with police blue lights flashing in the window pull into the parking lot behind a gold sedan. He said two plain clothes police officers walked up on each side of the car.

“It’s pretty common here for police to pull people over. I thought it was a normal traffic stop,” Poddutoori said. “When they approached they seemed normal, and when they looked inside they looked alerted.”

Poddutoori saw the gold car back up, strike one of the officer’s in the arm and then drive straight toward the building. He saw the gold car ram the police truck before driving toward store, inside two columns, crashing up against the building, then drive away on the sidewalk.

“I thought it was going to come inside,” Poddutoori said. “The only moment I was scared was when the car was approaching the store.”

Ashley Wright

Byrd said Wright was from Georgia but was a native of the Midland City area. He said Wright was not married and did not have any children.

Houston County Jail Commander Keith Reed said Wright was an inmate at the Houston County Jail as recent as last week. Reed said he was booked into the jail on a warrant from Alabama State Troopers, charging him with driving under the influence of a controlled substance.

A check through court records showed Wright had a lengthy criminal history with nearly a dozen felony convictions.

Kay Hope, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections, said Wright was released in March 2009 after completing his second prison term in Alabama. She said he completed a 16-year prison term for a series of felony charges, which included six counts of receiving stolen property, three theft charges and two promoting prison contraband charges.