2 charged with murder in Anniston shooting death - racial tensions rise - calls for federal investig
By William Thornton on January 19, 2016 at 12:47 PM, updated January 19, 2016 at 2:18 PM
Anniston, AL
Two men - including an Anniston City Jail worker - are in the Calhoun County Jail on murder charges in connection with a fatal shooting Friday night.
Joel Evan Abbott and Joshua Parker were arrested Tuesday in connection with the death of Deatrice Marquiste Barclay, 42, who was gunned down Friday night in his yard at 403 Permita Court in Anniston. Abbott, 23, was also injured in the incident.
Anniston Police Chief Shane Denham at a news conference earlier today prior to the arrests told members of the community that state officials were moving forward with an investigation into the shooting.
"This entire situation is a tragedy," Denham said, "and I don't want that to get lost in the shuffle."
The State Bureau of Investigation is looking into the shooting at the request of the Anniston Police Department as it involved Parker, who is on paid administrative leave.
Denham said Parker, to his knowledge, had no previous law enforcement experience and is not a certified police officer.
"Jailers are not issued weapons, not trained with weapons," he said. "It's not part of their job."
Parker was in the neighborhood visiting his girlfriend at the time of the shooting, Denham said, and investigators are not aware of any prior connection between Parker and Barclay. Over the weekend, news of the killing was shared in various social media posts from Barclay's family, with word that a white truck with a Rebel flag was involved in the shooting. Denham said the truck belonged to Abbott's girlfriend.
Denham said he asked ALEA to take control of the investigation to ease any concerns in the community.
Following Denham's news conference, Glen Ray, representing the local chapter of the NAACP, said the community is justly upset at the incident, which he said should be investigated as a hate crime.
"You can sugarcoat it all you want, but people have a right to protect their home," he said, to the applause of spectators at the news conference. "I don't care who's investigating this - somebody needs to be in jail. This is an ambush."
Charles Barclay, the victim's uncle, has shared video on social media of what he said was a blood trail from the scene of the shooting around the corner from his nephew's home on Permita Court. Fighting through tears outside Anniston police headquarters, he described his nephew as a "hard working guy." He said he was grateful for the arrests, which had not been formally announced earlier this morning.
"He was a good guy," he said of his nephew. "Nobody deserves to be shot down. All this killing has got to go away."
Both Ray and former Anniston City Councilman Ben Little said Barclay's death will serve as a catalyst for social action in the city. The two alluded to last year's firing of Anniston police officer Josh Doggrell for his membership in the League of the South, identified as a neo-Confederate group dedicated to the establishment of a Southern republic.
Both Ray and Little called for a federal investigation into the Anniston police department.
"We're going to stay here and organize until justice happens," Little said. "We're not calling for any race riot. We're calling for justice."
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