Franklin County Alabama

Man pleads guilty in robbery

Steven Jeffrey Cain, 50, 3642 Franklin 20, Phil Campbell, entered the plead on the armed burglary of Phil Campbell Drugs and also to three counts of being a convicted felon in possession of firearms, federal court officials said Wednesday.

Cain entered the guilty plea before U.S. District Judge C. Lynwood Smith Jr.

The robbery occurred about

5 a.m. Sept. 11, 2009, when Cain broke into the pharmacy, according to officials. Cain was accused of shooting at a Phil Campbell police officer who responded to the burglary call.

As part of the plea agreement, Cain also acknowledged that during the Sept. 30, 2009, robbery of Hometown Pharmacy in Russellville, he also shot at a police officer, court officials said.

“We appreciate the dedicated work of our local law enforcers in Phil Campbell and Russellville who, fortunately, were not injured by Cain's criminal behavior,” U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance said in a news release.

“Their hard work, in conjunction with county, state and federal partners, led to a just resolution in this case.”

Cain has yet to be sentenced, but all charges carry sentences of 25 years to life, court officials said. Cain has been in custody since his arrest Sept. 30, 2009, in Russellville, and is being held in Morgan County Jail in Decatur.

“I'm glad justice will be served with him; there should be serious consequences for what he did,” said Tammy Yancey, owner of Phil Campbell Drugs.

The April 27 tornado system destroyed the pharmacy on Franklin 237 in Phil Campbell.

The drug store is operating in a conference room in the Phil Campbell Rescue Squad on Broad Street.

Federal charges were filed May 4, 2010. They charged him with the Phil Campbell drug store burglary and with carrying a firearm during that burglary.

Cain also has seven prior felony convictions in Alabama and was charged with three counts of being a felon in possession of firearms, according to court documents.

Investigators working on the case included the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agency, the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, the Franklin County Sheriff's Office and the Phil Campbell and Russellville police departments.

Trevor Stokes can be reached at 256-740-5728 or trevor.stokes@TimesDaily.com .

China software developers protest Franklin County Alabama court ...

The trade association for software developers in China said it has sent letters to Alabama government officials saying it is worried about a recent $61 million court judgment against a software company owned by a Chinese parent.

Zhao Xiaofan, vice chairman China Software Industry Association, told The Birmingham News he sent the letters of inquiry to Gov. Robert Bentley and Seth Hammett, director of the Alabama Development Office, the state's recruiter of new businesses.

The issue stems from a civil jury verdict last year in Franklin County. Ross Systems, an Atlanta-based software developer owned by a Chinese firm, lost a business-dispute trial and was ordered to pay $61 million in punitive and compensatory damages. The jury found that Ross' software system went awry after being installed at the area's largest employer, pet-food maker Sunshine Mills.

Now, the Chinese trade association is afraid there are whiffs of xenophobia and jackpot justice wafting through Alabama.

"The recent judgment against Ross Systems in Alabama is cause for concern here in China," Zhao Xiaofan, vice chairman China Software Industry Association, told The Birmingham News. "We are very concerned on how this trial was handled especially the many references made by the plaintiff attorneys on Ross' Chinese roots, which was not relevant to the claims of this trial."

Attempts to reach the offices of Bentley and Hammett were unsuccessful. The identical letters sent by the trade group say verdicts such as the one pending against Ross would run counter to establishing a "fair and productive" business environment. The letters also ask why what appear at first glance to be simple breach-of-contract cases are garnering verdicts for fraud and consequent punitive damage awards.

The letters also hinted that such verdicts might be contrary to the spirit of recent business development talks between Alabama and China, the world's second-largest economy behind that of the United States. Last year, the letter reminded, China's vice minister of commerce visited Alabama, where he and state officials pledged to work toward promoting cross-border investment.

Ross Systems' owner is a Chinese company called market and their experience is being watched in China as a reference," the letter says. "To that end, the news of an apparently excessive award may serve as an alarming signal to potential investors looking to invest in states like Alabama.

Franklin County [Alabama], some Colbert Co. cemeteries; Bible records; newspaper obits & marriages from Tuscumbia Enquirer, 1855; legislators, Franklin Co., 1819-70; some early lawsuits, Franklin Co

Acts of the Legislature of Alabama of local, private, and special character

Acts of the General Assembly of the state of Alabama

Annals of northwest Alabama

Journal of the Senate of the State of Alabama