Grand jury indicts local man on murder charges
Published 12:00 am Saturday, February 12, 2005
The Crenshaw County Grand Jury has indicted a Brantley man on murder charges stemming from a shooting incident that happened in August, 2003.
Robert James Arnold, 17, was arrested on Jan. 26 and charged with the murder of Brad McMillian, 16, of Troy.
The shooting took place on Morgan Mill Road in Brantley on Aug. 2, 2003. The case has since been under investigation by members of the Crenshaw County Sheriff's Department and the Alabama Bureau of Investigation.
On Jan. 12, the grand jury issued a warrant for Arnold's arrest.
According sheriff's investigator Robin Daniels, he received a call from dispatch on Aug. 2 concerning a shooting victim and was the first to arrive on the scene. After searching the house and the outside area, he was unable to locate a victim but did recover a Colt Cobra .38 revolver. Daniels said he was then notified by dispatch that a shooting victim had been bought into Elba General Hospital in Coffee County. Arnold had transported McMillian to the hospital.
McMillian died of a gunshot wound to the chest.
Arnold told investigators the two had been target practicing with the .38 and other firearms when he accidentally shot McMillian.
"There were a lot of things that didn't add up about his statement," said Daniels, who conducted the initial interview of Arnold. "And that's the reason the grand jury came back with the indictment."
The jury also ruled that Arnold could be tried as an adult.
He has been released on $10,000 bail.