Suspect pled guilty to drugs this year

 

Thursday’s murder victim was shot in the back of the head, allegedly by a man with a criminal history, Sheriff Dennis Meeks confirmed Tuesday.

Donnie Earl Bone, 48, was found by a hunter in an area off Old Drag Strip Road. His body had been hidden under a tarp. Law enforcement was able to identify Bone after family members reported him missing early Friday morning.

“The investigation is still ongoing, so I can’t really comment further until the autopsy results come in,” Meeks said Tuesday.

Previously, Meeks said the shooting “was something that happened between two people.”

And while he wouldn’t comment on a motive for the shooting, court records show the accused shooter, 59-year-old Shelton L. Foster, has a criminal history involving prescription pill abuse. He was arrested in January 2010 and indicted by the grand jury on charges of possession of a forged instrument III and two counts of possession of a controlled substance.

An affidavit signed by a Drug Task Force agent said Foster went to several doctors to obtain prescriptions for Lortab/hydrocodone, and then filled those prescriptions at several different pharmacies.

Records show that Foster obtained 112 pills in one week, and then another 80 pills in another three-day period in 2009.

The affidavit also showed, that on one occasion, Foster also altered a prescription from Mizell Memorial Hospital’s emergency room, changing the quantity of Dilaudid pills from four to 40.

Foster pled guilty March 8, 2012, to one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. He was given a one-year suspended sentence and was ordered to pay court costs of $338 and $100 to the Crime Victim’s Compensation Fund. Upon the guilty plea, the remaining charges were dismissed.

Foster, who is charged with capital murder in Bone’s death, is currently being held in the Covington County Jail without bond.