Dothan man faces felony drug charge from police shooting

Credit: Dothan Police Department

Michael Ray Turner

By: Matt Elofson | Dothan Eagle
Published: July 28, 2010
Updated: July 29, 2010 - 8:55 AM

A man injured during a fatal shooting involving Dothan police last week was arrested Tuesday, and now faces a felony drug charge.

Dothan police confirmed that detectives arrested Michael Ray Turner, 28, of South Alice Street, and charged him with felony unlawful possession of a controlled substance. Court records show police charged Turner with the possession of methamphetamine on Thursday, July 22, near a residence in the 2900 block of West Main Street. If convicted of the charge, Turner faces one to 10 years in prison for the class C felony crime.

Dothan Police Chief Greg Benton said police detectives arrested a suspect on Tuesday on a felony unlawful possession of a controlled substance charge, shortly after he was released from a local hospital.

Turner was traveling in the same vehicle as Ashley Wright, 39, of Eden, Ga., who died during a shooting with Dothan police. Authorities have said a third man was traveling in the vehicle with Turner and Wright, but police said only Turner has been charged with a crime.

A court records check on Turner revealed police charged him in 2004 with felony possession of cocaine, but that charge had not been disposed of yet in court.

The incident started around 8:30 p.m. as two Dothan narcotic investigators attempted to question some people inside a vehicle in the parking lot of the Hop-In convenience store at the intersection of West Main Street and Honeysuckle Road. Gunfire erupted after police said the driver of the vehicle apparently tried to reach for a gun, and struck the officers with his vehicle. It was later determined Wright was the driver of the vehicle, and crashed the car in the front yard of a home on West Main Street after the gunfire started.

The two narcotic investigators were also injured in the incident, and Benton said one of the officers has returned to duty. But he said the other officer has not returned to duty after suffering an injured shoulder and knee.

Detectives with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation continue to look into the police-related shooting, and they will turn their completed investigation over to District Attorney Doug Valeska for review. Valeska has already released information that police found two guns inside the suspect's vehicle, along with some meth and prescription medication.

Dothan man faces felony drug charge from police shooting

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