Suspect in shooting nabbed in Eight Mile

Kelvin Hale is charged with murder in connection with attempted robbery and shooting of Ghana native
A Prichard man who failed to show for his murder trial in January was nabbed without incident Friday morning at a home in the city's Eight Mile community, authorities said.

Kelvin Hale, 28, is charged with murder in connection with the May 2001 attempted robbery and shooting of Ghana native Michael Kukula, 42, said officer Eric Gallichant, a Mobile police spokesman.

Hale was released from Mobile County Metro Jail on $100,000 bond in June 2001, Mobile County court records show.

Prior to his January trial date, Mobile police notified Hale that a warrant had been issued charging him with bribing a witness in the murder case, Gallichant said. But instead of surrendering, Hale went into hiding.

Gallichant said that last month Hale was able to elude capture on the outstanding bribery charge by giving Mobile police a false name when they arrested him on a drug charge.

Members of the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force arrested Hale about 8 a.m. Friday at a home on Stovall Street, the spokesman said.

Hale was taken to Mobile County Metro Jail where he was being held on $300,000 bond, a corrections officer said.

Besides the outstanding murder charge, Hale now is charged with bribing a witness and obstruction of justice, the corrections officer said.

Gallichant said Hale is charged with bribing a witness to Kukula's slaying. Citing an ongoing investigation, the spokesman declined to release the name or other information about the person who allegedly was bribed.

That person's name "will come out at trial," Gallichant said.

According to the spokesman, the obstruction of justice charge stems from the July incident where Mobile police arrested Hale on a possession of marijuana charge.

He gave a false name and consequently was released from custody, Gallichant said.

Chastity Joy Parnell, 23, also was arrested and charged with murder in the shotgun slaying of Kukula.

An alleged prostitute, Parnell was accused of helping set up Kukula to be robbed at Warren Inn Motel on Airport Boulevard in west Mobile.

Witnesses testified at Parnell's August 2002 murder trial that after she had a sexual tryst with Kukula she told friends that he had a substantial sum of money.

Parnell's trial ended in a hung jury. During a plea bargain in October 2002, Parnell pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery in the case.

Mobile County Circuit Judge Ferrill McRae sentenced her to 10 years in prison, suspending the term to the time she had already served.