Lee Hedgepeth
CBS 42
Birmingham, AL, United States
Contact Lee
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
| Recent: |
|
| Past: |
|
Past articles by Lee:
FBI part of investigation into Walker County man’s death in police custody
The FBI is now part of an ongoing investigation into Anthony “Tony” Mitchell’s death in police custody, according to the Alabama Attorney General’s Office. → Read More
Who was Anthony ‘Tony’ Mitchell? Friends remember Walker County man who died in police custody
JASPER, Ala. (WIAT) – Friends and family are speaking out for the first time about Anthony “Tony” Mitchell, the inmate who died while in the custody of the Walker County Sheriff’s Office. Jail surveillance video and multiple newly-filed lawsuits surrounding the death of Anthony “Tony” Mitchell, who was incarcerated at the Walker County Jail, are […] → Read More
Following allegations of police misconduct, Alabama high school cancels basketball game with sheriff’s office
CARBON HILL, Ala. (WIAT) — They thought the post was plainly insensitive. Less than an hour after CBS 42 was the first to report allegations that Walker County Sheriff’s Office had “likely” placed an incarcerated, mentally ill man, Anthony “Tony” Mitchell, in a freezer inside the local jail, officials with the sheriff’s department had something […] → Read More
‘Unsatisfactory service’: Sheriff fired officer who blew whistle on treatment of mentally ill man, lawsuit alleges
WALKER COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) — She had to share the truth. That was the reason, according to a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday morning, that a Walker County correctional officer decided to share internal surveillance video of Anthony “Tony” Mitchell with someone outside of her agency. For that, the lawsuit claims, she was terminated from her […] → Read More
PHOTOS: At Montevallo’s College Night, A Purple Victory for the ages
MONTEVALLO, Ala. (WIAT) — Holy cow. Saturday night, in front of a packed house at Palmer Hall, the University of Montevallo’s Purple Side secured a PV (Purple Victory). The win was the culmination of the university’s 104th College Night, often touted as one of the oldest homecoming traditions in the nation. College Night, unlike other […] → Read More
Alabama Supreme Court unanimously rules on Chilton County employee lawsuit
CHILTON COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) — The Alabama Supreme Court has unanimously rejected an effort by former Chilton County Schools Superintendent Jason Griffin to dismiss a lawsuit filed against him by two system employees. The lawsuit, filed by two school system employees, claims Griffin illegally demanded that the employees pay the system thousands of dollars to […] → Read More
Police said an Alabama man was ‘alert and conscious’ when he left their jail. Video shows otherwise.
The Walker County Sheriff's Office said an Alabama man, Anthony "Tony" Mitchell was 'alert and conscious' when he left their jail. Video shows otherwise. → Read More
Midnight in Mulga: How an Alabama man froze to death inside his family home
Jeffrey Montgolf is one of at least three men who died from exposure to the cold in just the last year in Jefferson County, a drastic increase from previous years, when only four men had frozen to death over an entire decade, according to statistics from the coroner’s office. → Read More
Assistant DA: Pregnant woman identified boyfriend as shooter before her death in Birmingham
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — A newly released court document has revealed that a 24-year-old pregnant woman who was shot and killed at a Birmingham apartment on the last day of January allegedly identified the man responsible for the shooting before her death. In a court document filed in an unrelated 2017 case, Lane K. Tolbert, […] → Read More
Will the Chinese spy balloon float over your town?
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Will the Chinese spy balloon float over your town? Using National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) projection tools, CBS 42 meteorologist Alex Puckett projected the path of the Chinese balloon, which is currently being tracked by U.S. defense officials who confirmed its presence over the country earlier this week. Pentagon officials […] → Read More
Students ‘traumatized’ after active shooter confusion leads police to respond to wrong Alabama school
The police response to Magic City Acceptance Academy on Wednesday was caused not by a report of an active shooter at that school, officials later confirmed, but by a report of shots fired at a school across the street, the Islamic Academy of Alabama. → Read More
The rise and fall of Rex Vulcan: How the bitter cold ended Birmingham’s Mardi Gras
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — It wasn’t a lack of revelry that ended Birmingham’s Mardi Gras: it was the bitter cold. Beginning in 1886, just 15 years after the city’s founding, Birmingham’s German Society organized Mardi Gras festivities in the Magic City for the first time, according to contemporaneous press accounts. “The first Mardi Gras and […] → Read More
Parkside patrons, locals mourn death of Birmingham’s ‘coolest cat,’ Tab
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — When Christy Eubank moved to Birmingham from Charlotte a few years back, the pandemic lockdown kept her from getting acquainted with the Magic City as quickly as she’d have liked. But last summer, after Eubank had joined a social group and began getting out more, she finally met someone who truly […] → Read More
‘Election shenanigans’: Winners and losers question legitimacy of Birmingham’s neighborhood elections
According to an official ballot posted by the City of Birmingham, Faith Abraham was the only candidate who qualified to run for the presidency of her community’s neighborhood association. Once the election was held, unofficial election results posted by the city showed Abraham winning the election for president, earning 21 votes to a write-in candidate’s 17. → Read More
An Alabama man was arrested during a welfare check. Two weeks later, he was dead.
His family thought jail may the safest place for him. But two weeks after his family called police for a welfare check and their loved one was subsequently arrested, Anthony “Tony” Mitchell was dead. → Read More
Here’s how many Alabamians have been fully approved for student loan forgiveness but await court ruling
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Hundreds of thousands of Alabamians have been “fully approved” for student loan debt forgiveness, according to numbers released by the White House on Friday. Only a final court decision on the debt relief program’s legality is standing in the way of loan forgiveness, the White House said. According to the data […] → Read More
Birmingham building evacuated after report of suspicious package
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — An office building in Birmingham was evacuated after a suspicious package was found on site Monday morning, according to local fire officials. Officials said they received a report of a suspicious package at the building just before 10 a.m. Monday morning. The building was evacuated and first responders, including Birmingham fire […] → Read More
For second time, judge orders Children’s of Alabama to hand over info in child’s wrongful death case
For the second time in less than a year, Children’s of Alabama, a pediatric hospital in Birmingham, has been ordered by a judge to hand over information in a wrongful death case. → Read More
Alabama schools cancel Black History Month events with award-winning Black children’s author
HOOVER, Ala. (WIAT) — Multiple Alabama schools have canceled events featuring a Black, award-winning, New York Times-bestselling children’s author. The events, which had been scheduled to take place during Black History Month in Hoover and Alabaster City Schools, were canceled without explanation earlier this week, according to Derrick Barnes, the author. He believes the cancellations […] → Read More
Concerned about the smoke from Moody? The EPA recommends taking these actions
MOODY, Ala. (WIAT) — The EPA is recommending that concerned residents close their doors and windows to help keep out smoke from a landfill fire that’s been burning in St. Clair County for months. A Friday press release from the United State Environmental Protection Agency said that “some chemicals” were found in air samples taken […] → Read More