Goodwater implements curfew following homicide
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Goodwater has implemented a curfew following the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Malik Holtzclaw of Goodwater.
By Christa Jennings
Senior Staff Writer
Just five days after a homicide occurred in the Town of Goodwater, the town has implemented a new curfew.
This curfew will also apply to adults through this weekend. It will continue to apply to youth in the town limits “until further notice,” according to the Goodwater Police Department.
Police Chief Corey Shaw presented the curfew proposal to the Goodwater Town Council during its meeting Tuesday evening, and the council approved it.
The curfew went into effect the following day, May 11. For all adults 18 and older, the curfew is from May 11 through Sunday, May 15, with their curfew within the town limits being midnight.
For those under the age of 18, the curfew will remain in effect until further notice. Their curfew within the town limits is 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Chief Shaw clarified that the curfew is not meant to prevent youth from going to stores within the town limits after those hours. Rather, he said the curfew is intended to prevent teenagers from loitering on the streets in Goodwater.
The curfew came about after the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Malik Holtzclaw that occurred last Thursday, May 5.
At about 10:57 p.m. that day Goodwater Police Department was notified of numerous shots fired on Highland Street. The department called the Sheriff’s Office for assistance, and deputies also responded to the scene along with police officers.
After arriving on the scene, law enforcement officers found that one individual had suffered a gunshot wound. That victim; identified as Holtzclaw, a Goodwater area resident; was transported to Russell Medical Center in Alexander City where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
While the investigation remains ongoing, the Sheriff’s Office has so far arrested two Sylacauga men in connection with the case. Kendarius Lashun Hale-Youngblood and Erskin Demetrius McKinney Jr., both 27 years old, were arrested May 6 and charged with manslaughter.
Bonds for each were set at $100,000. McKinney bonded out the same day, and as of press time Hale-Youngblood remained in custody at the Coosa County Jail.
The Sheriff’s Office and Goodwater Police Department are continuing to investigate this case and are requesting the public’s assistance. Anyone who may have any information regarding the shooting is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office at 256-377-4922.
A visitation for Holtzclaw was held yesterday evening at Armour’s Memorial Funeral Home. His funeral service will be at 1 p.m. today at the old Goodwater School Auditorium at 133 Harris Street in Goodwater.