Tuesday morning, David Bradley Godwin pleaded guilty to Domestic Violence by Strangulation in front of Circuit Judge Lex Short. Godwin’s guilty plea marks the first conviction in Covington County for the statute, which was enacted by Alabama legislation and put into effect on September 1, 2011. The statute provides for the prosecution of a person who commits domestic violence against their victim in the form of strangulation or suffocation. District Attorney Walt Merrell stated after Godwin’s plea that, "this is a landmark for Covington County. Women have suffered too long at the hands of abusive men, and until the passage of this law, they suffered at the hands of a legal system that failed them due to this loop hole. No more. Women deserve equal rights under the law and we are going to give them equal protection in the courtroom."

Godwin was sentenced to twenty years imprisonment. He was represented by his attorney, John Peek.

On Wednesday, Ricky Joe Burgans pleaded guilty to Unlawful Manufacture of a Controlled Substance I and was sentenced to twelve years imprisonment. The trial against Burgans was scheduled to begin in front of Circuit Judge Charles A. "Lex" Short first thing Wednesday morning. A jury was struck, and at the last moment, the defendant, represented by David Baker, decided that he wished to plead guilty. District Attorney Walt Merrell, who prosecuted the case, stated after the defendant pleaded guilty, "this is just one more example of how the jury system works. Some folks have to have their feet in the fire before they’re willing to own up to what they’ve done. This case is a good example of that. Justice has been served in this case and that shows that the system works."

The Covington County District Attorney’s Office was able to arrest one of the Worthless Check Unit’s Top 11 Most Wanted on Tuesday, March 19, 2013. The offender was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama in City Court. Investigator Lamar Stokes had been in contact with the Montgomery District Attorney’s Chief Investigator, Frank Vickery, and through contact with him, the arrest was made. Mr. Anquinton Stovall was arrested on two counts of NWNI. He was held on a cash bond in the amount of $20,000 per check.

The District Attorney’s Office is still currently looking for the others who were in Covington County writing bad checks that totaled $30,000. The Worthless Check Unit has some leads and hope to make an arrest soon in these cases.

An arrest made earlier in the month strikes off another on the Top 11 Most Wanted list. On March 8, 2013, Steven Hodges was arrested by Covington County Sheriff’s Deputy Kyle Adams. Hodges was release on bond and a court date was set.