Two suspects in police shooting face drug charges

By: Matt Elofson | Dothan Eagle
Published: July 28, 2010

Dothan Police Chief Greg Benton said the two men riding in a car with a Georgia man who was killed last week during a police shooting now face felony drug charges.

Benton said police investigators have arrested both men for their involvement in the drug-related incident last week that resulted in the death of 39-year-old Ashley Wright. Benton said police took one of the men traveling in the vehicle with Wright into custody shortly after the incident Thursday evening. He also said investigators arrested the second man on Tuesday after he was released from a local hospital.

Wright suffered a fatal gunshot wound during a police-involved shooting in the parking lot of the Hop-In convenience store at the corner of West Main Street and Honeysuckle Road. Police and prosecutors said Wright was shot after he appeared to have been reaching for a gun inside his vehicle. The gunfire started after Wright apparently tried to escape two narcotics officers who had tried to question him in the parking lot.

Police said the two narcotics officers were both taken to Southeast Alabama Medical Center for treatment. Police said both officers were injured after they were struck by the vehicle driven by Wright as he tried to escape.

Benton said the officers' names would likely be released after investigators with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation complete their inquiry into the shooting. He said Tuesday that one of the officers had returned to duty at the police department after suffering abrasions to his arm. He said the second officer has not returned to duty after he suffered injuries to his shoulder and knee.

Benton said both of the men inside the vehicle with Wright have been charged with felony unlawful possession of a controlled substance. But Benton said the identity of the two men was not available Tuesday. He did say one of the men had been hospitalized for injuries he suffered in the crash with Wright.

After the vehicle driven by Wright had been shot the car crashed into a tree near a home on West Main Street. It's unclear how many shots were fired at the car, or whether any of the suspects returned fire at police.

District Attorney Doug Valeska has said police found two guns inside the car driven by Wright, along with some methamphetamine and prescription medication.

Valeska said he would review the inquiry turned into him by agents with the ABI, and would make a determination on whether it was a legitimate, justified police shooting. Valeska said Tuesday he had not received any updates about by the ABI inquiry.

Two suspects in police shooting face drug charges

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