The North Mobile Post

    While investigating a car crash, Alabama State Troopers found something away from the crash site they were not expecting: a dead body. The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office was called to investigate, as the body had no connection to the vehicle crash. In fact, investigators believe the body has been there for some time, possibly months. Deputies believe they have an ID on the person, but have not yet released a name as they are still attempting to notify the family.

    Foul play is not suspected at this time. Sheriff’s deputies believe the person may have been homeless and camping in the area when they died. According to Fox 10 News, several items were found near the body to suggest they had been staying at the spot, including food, a bicycle, and a jacket. The body was found in the woods near the intersection of Moffett Road and Glenwood Road.

    Local residents were stunned by the revelation that a body had been in the neighborhood for months without anyone knowing. Several stated that they had been in the area and never noticed it. It just goes to show how much is occurring right under our noses that we never know about.

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    The US Postal Service has been struggling in recent years, but one Mobile County location has a whole new kind of problem. On Tuesday night, a constable went to check his mail at the Chunchula office when he detected a strange odor. He discovered two people cooking meth behind the counter using a one shot lab. One of the suspects fled and got away, but the constable detained the second, a 15 year old boy. The incident occurred around 8:00 PM last night.

    Meth has been a big problem nation wide for some time now. Criminals have been manufacturing the substance in more and more unusual places. In Mobile County alone we have seen labs pop up in parks, and now a post office. It appears the drug manufacturers are heeding an old saying, that sometimes the best place to hide is right out in the open.

    The Mobile County Sheriff’s office is questioning the 15 year old suspect in an attempt to locate his accomplice. It is believed that the missing suspect has a criminal background related to drug charges. The 15 year old will be charged with manufacturing a controlled substance. The identities of both suspects have not been revealed at this time.

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    Jacob Joseph Johansen was arrested on Wednesday on 18 counts of sexual abuse by Mobile County Sheriff’s. The abuse was reported to the Sheriff’s office by a local school in January of 2012. There are two alleged victims. Both are under the age of 12. Johansen was arrested at his mother’s home. He remains in jail with no bond.

    Johansen faces six counts of first degree rape, eight counts of first degree sodomy, and four counts of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12. According the Local 15 News the child’s identities are being kept secret, but they are known to be members of Johansen’s family. One Mobile County Sheriff’s deputy described the details of the case as the worst he had seen in his career.

    It usually takes a few months to get enough evidence for a grand jury to issue and indictment in this sort of case. Due to the severity of the abuse, the children were considered in immediate danger and an arrest warrant was issued. US Marshals helped bring Johansen in.

    One of the children’s teachers suspected something was wrong with the children. After questioning them, the teacher contacted the Department of Human Resources. The teacher’s diligence is what ultimately led to the arrest. The children are now safe in the custody of a family member. They will be receiving counseling at the Child Advocacy Center.

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    Two men were arrested yesterday in Mt. Vernon for operating a meth lab out of a camper trailer according to Fox 10 News. Mobile County Sheriff’s deputies were there to question one of the men about a robbery when the lab was discovered. The operation was a “one shot” or “shake and bake” type of lab. These meth labs require constant attention or explosions might occur. One such explosion destroyed a home in Eight Mile just a few days ago.

    The two men arrested were Brian Chestang and Mark Douglas. The two will be charged with 1st degree unlawful manufacturing of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and trafficking meth. The two were taken to Mobile Metro jail where they remain in police custody.

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    A meth lab explosion destroyed a house in Eight Mile yesterday. The explosion occurred around 4:00 PM 5421 Dogwood Trail. Witnesses saw a man leave the house after the explosion. The police later found the suspect and escorted him to the hospital to be treated for burns. Criminal charges are pending. The identity of the suspect has not been released.

    The home in question was left in ruin, with only a dog house remaining. The Prichard Fire Department was tasked with putting out the fire in the remains of the building. It was no easy task, as smaller explosions were still going off from the meth lab when firefighters arrived. The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident.

    In 2011 there were 177 meth labs discovered in Alabama. That number was actually down drastically from the previous three years which saw totals over 600 each year. The reason for the drop was not because of a drop in usage, rather it was because money provided by the federal government that helped states like Alabama clean up discovered meth labs had run out. Without money for cleanup, police were not as proactive in their anti-meth measures.

    That funding was restored near the end of 2011. Meth is a very dangerous drug that produces almost 5 pounds of toxic waste for every pound of meth created. The drug is highly addictive and tears families and even communities apart. Now that narcotics divisions have the funding needed to combat this societal nuisance, we can once against expect to see the number of meth labs discovered rise.

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    The worker killed at ThyssenKrupp earlier this week has been identified as Michael Wilson of Flowery Branch, Georgia. The 53 year old employee of National Steel City fell 85 feet to his death on Tuesday. The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office has completed their investigation and ruled the incident as an accident. There was no foul play involved.

    OSHA is still investigating the accident, but their inquiry could take months. It is not known at this time if Wilson was wearing a harness. Though wearing a harness is required when working at great heights and failure to do so can often lead to termination, workers frequently toss aside the safety instrument for small tasks. Tuesday’s accident showed why this is never a good idea.

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    WKRG News 5 is reporting that a worker was killed at the ThyssenKrupp Steel Plant yesterday. The worker’s name was not released. The employee worked for National Steel City. He died while working on the Melt Shop at TK. The accident occurred around mid-day. As a result of the accident all construction activity at the site has been halted through today.

    National Steel City is a contractor based out of Plymouth, Michigan. The company works in equipment installation and construction in the steel and power industries. They have about 150 workers on hand at TK working on the Melt Shop which is the last major component of the ThyssenKrupp facility to be built.

    Officials at TK immediatley contacted the Mobile County Sheriff’s office and OSHA so that a full investigation into the accident could begin. This is not the first death at the plant. Joseph Dudewicz was killed back in November. Dudewicz was a crane operator who also died in an accident.

    Accidents like this are fairly rare. This is the reason for the strict safety rules employed by OSHA. They may seem cumbersome at times, but they were designed to save lives. Plants across the country have gotten on board by promoting safety through incentives for consecutive days without accidents. Those who violate safety regulations can be terminated for such actions.

    According to OSHA statistics, 4,547 people were killed on the job in 2010. That average out to about 12 deaths every day. Of those, about one-fifth occurred in construction. The leading causes of death in construction accidents were falls, electrocutions, being struck by objects, and being caught in between objects. Those four caused about 57% of all construction accidents in 2010.

    Despite all of those terrible statistics, worker deaths are down in America. In 1970 about 38 people died on the job every day. As mentioned earlier that number is now down to 12 deaths a day. Overall workplace fatalities have fallen by about 65% since 1970. OSHA has done a tremendous job in improving work place safety for American workers. Unfortunately, yesterday proved we can never be completely safe.

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    WKRG News 5 is reporting that the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office has opened an investigation into William Atkinson, the missionary who has been arrested in Honduras for allegedly molesting children at an orphanage his family runs. The Sheriff’s Office is trying to determine if Atkinson had victims along the Gulf Coast. A tape was anonymously delivered to the Sheriff’s Office on Friday that showed Atkinson sexually abusing a child in Honduras.

    This story is just the latest in a long line of church related abuses of children. The Catholic church has been plagued by this problem for decades. It has only come into the public spotlight in the past decade or so. An institution of faith is the last place one would expect such an attack to occur at, and that is why the crime is magnified beyond its original horror.

    This is another unfortunate reminder of the dangers that await children out in the world these days. Ask the older generation and they will say the streets were safer back in their day. One has to wonder if it was truly safer back then or if crimes against children were not reported as frequently. The 24 hour news cycle has changed the way we view the world forever. When news like this is reported the view does not look to good.

    A robbery attempt at Eddie’s Country Store in Chunchula was foiled recently. As a store clerk closed up shop for the night she noticed two men trying to break into the window. The clerk called another employee of the store who lives nearby, Mike Smith, for help. Smith arrived on the scene with a shotgun and fired into the air hoping to scare off the burglars. Smith was unaware that the men were armed as well, and they fired back. Smith was unharmed, and the burglars fled into the woods. Anyone who has any information on the would be robbers should contact the Mobile County Sheriff’s office.