Friday, January 12, 2007

News from Our Alabama Neighbors
(do you wonder why we support gun control?)

"Man shot in fight over James Brown's height"
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
By Connie Baggett, Staff Reporter
Mobile (Alabama) Press Register

James BrownGunfire landed a 70-year-old Atmore man in jail and a 62-year-old man in the hospital Monday after the two got into a heated argument over the height of recently deceased soul musician James Brown, police said.

Atmore police said David James Brooks Jr. walked into the police station and told officers he had been shot. Paramedics rushed him to a hospital for treatment.

Minutes later, Dan Gulley Jr. arrived at the station, saying he had fired the gunshot, officers said Tuesday.

Investigators learned that the two men had been at a friend's house on Stallworth Street when they argued about just how tall James Brown was.

Brown, known as "The Godfather of Soul" and the "Hardest Working Man in Show Business," died Dec. 25 in Atlanta of a heart attack at the age of 73. His career spanned 50 years, including hits during the civil rights movement and into the 1980s.

So just how tall was Brown, who was known to wear lifts? He was 5 feet 6 inches tall, according to several Internet sources. One of those sources -- CelebHeights.com -- bills itself as a "fairly reliable guide" but does not state its source. Other Internet references to Brown's height also do not list sources.

Witnesses told police that after Gulley and Brooks' argument escalated, Gulley began shooting at Brooks, hitting him twice in the abdomen. Brooks, already wounded, went to his vehicle, got a gun and returned fire at Gulley, missing him, according to a police news release.

Gulley was arrested by Atmore Police officers and charged with assault. He remained in Escambia County Jail on Tuesday. Brooks remained in the hospital on Tuesday, officers said. Information regarding his condition was not available.

Atmore officers said the shooting happened shortly after noon Monday and that alcohol is not believed to be a factor. Police recovered two small-caliber handguns, investigators said.

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