Another of Selma’s most wanted arrested

By Katie Nichols (Contact) | Selma Times-Journal

Published Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Five down. Five to go.

Police have apprehended five of their most wanted list of 10 as of Tuesday morning.

Officers arrested Cedric Eaton, 22, and charged him with two counts of robbery in the first degree.

“Officers received a tip from Crime Stoppers regarding the whereabouts of Cedric Eaton,” Sgt. Doug Stewart said. “Officers went to the residence where the informant said Mr. Eaton was located. We were given permission to enter the home and search the residence.”

Police entered the home and began looking for the Selma resident. They finally located him in an unusual place – an operating chest freezer.

“Officers found Cedric Eaton hiding in a freezer,” Stewart said. “They arrested him and brought him to headquarters for questioning.”

Eaton allegedly placed a gun to the head of a 25-year-old victim on Nov. 11, 2008.

“Mr. Eaton demanded money from the victim,” Stewart said. The robbery occurred in the 1700 block of Alabama Avenue.

The Code of Alabama defines robbery in the first degree as a person who “armed with a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument” while committing a theft.

The offense is considered a class-a felony.

Typically a class-a felony would be punishable by imprisonment from 10 years to 99 years. However because the gun used in the alleged robbery the punishment, if convicted, would be greater.

“For a Class A felony in which a firearm or deadly weapon was used or attempted to be used in the commission of the felony, or a Class A felony criminal sex offense involving a child as defined in Section 15-20-21(5), not less than 20 years,” the Code of Alabama reads.

Therefore if Eaton is convicted of just one robbery in the first-degree count, he could face 20 to 99 years in prison and pay a fine up to $60,000.

Police placed Eaton in the Dallas County Jail under two $60,000 bonds.

“Once again we want to thank the citizens who have helped us,” Stewart said. “The community police partnership makes it easier for us to make arrests.”

Authorities are still looking for five more suspects — Frank “Happy” Carter, wanted for first-degree kidnapping; Leonard Crocker, wanted for theft of property in the second degree and theft of property by deception; Frank Deville, wanted for sexual abuse in the first degree; Steven Romage, wanted for theft of property in the second degree and Marcus Durry, wanted for theft of property in the second degree.

If you have any information on the whereabouts of any of these individuals, then authorities ask you to contact them.

You can call the police department at 874-6611 or the Secret Witness Line at 874-2190 or Crime Stoppers at 877-3530. Crime Stoppers pays up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest. Crime Stoppers and the Secret Witness Line are both anonymous.

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