[AL] "ONGOING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE" preceded Commissioner Nordine's arrest for the murder of girlfriend Angel Downs

Baldwin County Sheriff Huey "Hoss" Mack said he believes the death of Angel Downs resulted from an ongoing domestic violence situation with Mobile County Commissioner Stephen Nodine that spiraled out of control... Alleged abuse in the extramarital relationship was one of the factors in the impeachment trial Nodine faces in Mobile County... 

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...The witness list has partially been released containing the names of those who will be called to testify in the upcoming murder trial of Mobile County Commissioner Steve Nodine. Insiders report the list of names is a who's who of Mobile's political elite... [Nordine] graced the pages of the Palm Beach Post back in 1988 for having broken into a girls home he was supposedly dating and beating her about the legs. She declined to press charges...

Stephen Nodine, Alabama County Commissioner, Charged in Alleged Mistress Angel Downs' MurderCBSNEWS
Carlin DeGuerin Miller
May 26, 2010 12:09 PM
[Excerpts] Mobile County Commissioner Stephen Nodine was indicted Monday morning for the murder of his alleged mistress Angel Downs and surrendered to authorities in front of multiple news cameras Monday afternoon. Baldwin County authorities announced Monday that Nodine is their only suspect in the May 9 murder of Downs in front of her Gulf Shores, Ala. home, about 50 miles south of Mobile. Nodine is also accused of abusing Downs during their alleged extramarital affair. "There was a history there," Baldwin County Sheriff Huey "Hoss" Mack told reporters. "I think it escalated that night. I think the evidence is going to show that there was a confrontation, and the result of that confrontation ended in Ms. Downs being shot and subsequently dying. I think that the state will be able to prove that." Downs was shot once in her head in the driveway of her home... Nodine has been under scrutiny for ethics violations. He was indicted by a Mobile County grand jury Jury May 14, just five days after the murder, on multiple ethics charges. The grand jury also recommended that Nodine step down as commissioner . The indictment accuses him of abusing Downs, misusing county property and funds and fraudulently purchasing more than 2,400 Lortab painkillers from nine pharmacies in four states... He has also been criminally charged in Mobile County with second-degree possession of marijuana, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He has denied all charges... [Full article here]

Nodine Indicted and Arrested for Murder
Lagniappe Web Exclusive
By Kevin Lee
May 25, 2010
[Excerpts] Surrendering to authorities, Mobile District 2 County Commissioner Stephen Nodine was handcuffed this evening by Baldwin County Sheriff’s deputies in the street outside the jail, surrounded by a swath of reporters... “We’re here to announce that the Baldwin County grand jury has indicted Stephen Nodine in the murder of Angel Downs,” Baldwin County District Attorney Judy Newcomb told media... Downs’ sister, Susan Bloodworth was seen on the front row of the courtroom gallery when the indictment was handed over. Bond was set at $500,000. Downs, Nodine’s mistress of six years, died in front of her condominium off Ft. Morgan Road in Gulf Shores. Neighbors say they saw Nodine’s truck leave the scene after hearing a gunshot. Downs’ family and friends have consistently refuted suggestions of suicide. Alleged abuse in the extramarital relationship was one of the factors in the impeachment trial Nodine faces in Mobile County... Nodine’s defense was simple. “He was not there,” co-counsel John Williams said. Baldwin County Sheriff Huey Mack described the evidence in the Downs case as “voluminous” heading into the final days before grand jury presentation... [Full article here]

Murder case against Mobile County Commissioner Steve Nodine continues to build
Examiner.com, Mobile Political Buzz Examiner
Daniel McBryde
May 26, 7:00 PM
[Excerpts] The witness list has partially been released containing the names of those who will be called to testify in the upcoming murder trial of Mobile County Commissioner Steve Nodine. Insiders report the list of names is a who's who of Mobile's political elite. It's as if the entire ruling class is being put on trial for their part in the now infamous rise to prominence in Mobile politics of the troubled young man from Palm Beach Florida. Speaking of which, information is flowing fast and furious from that part of the country as well on the notorious antics of our anti-hero when he graced the pages of the Palm Beach Post back in 1988 for having broken into a girls home he was supposedly dating and beating her about the legs. She declined to press charges, the paper reported, and apparently and only wanted Nodine to go away, as so many in Mobile wish he would do now... [Full article here]

Sheriff believes death of Angel Downs resulted from ongoing domestic violence
al.com (blog)
By Kim Lanier
May 26, 2010, 5:31AM
[Excerpts] Baldwin County Sheriff Huey "Hoss" Mack said he believes the death of Angel Downs resulted from an ongoing domestic violence situation with Mobile County Commissioner Stephen Nodine that spiraled out of control... A Mobile grand jury earlier this month recommended that Nodine, 46, be removed from office. The indictment accused him of abusing Downs, misusing county property and funds and fraudulently purchasing more than 2,400 Lortab painkillers. He has also been criminally charged in Mobile County with second-degree possession of marijuana, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He has denied all charges... Nodine has been segregated from the rest of the jail population -- standard procedure for all highly publicized cases, Mack said... Many questioned why it took so long to bring charges against the commissioner, the sheriff said. "You've got to have your facts straight. So that's what we were trying to do," Mack said. "Our goal was not to get it done as quickly as we could, but to get it done as efficiently as we could. I don't know that I've ever had a case before where you literally had three legal situations going on. You've got a murder case in Baldwin County. You've got a simple drug possession case in Mobile County. Now factor in a civil proceeding of impeachment. And all three will share some -- not all -- but some of the same evidence. The evidence kind of melts into each case," he said... Dean, who has known Nodine for 17 years, said he didn't know what he would be asked in the closed deposition... [Full article here]
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