Attempted murder suspect caught at soup kitchen

Published 3:06 pm Friday, March 27, 2015

A Brewton man wanted for attempted murder who fled after a weekend incident is in custody.

Chief Deputy Mike Lambert said Walter L. Hodges, 43, was taken into custody at a Pensacola, Fla., soup kitchen just before lunch Friday.

Hodges was wanted after he allegedly repeatedly rammed a car occupied by his

Hodges

Hodges

ex-wife and her cousin Sunday.

Lambert said the Evergreen resident and her cousin from Montgomery were traveling north on Ala. Hwy. 31 when they met Hodges traveling southbound.

“The ex-wife said he had made previous threats of doing her bodily harm,” Lambert said. “Victim and witness statements say that when Hodges met them, he turned around and gave chase, ran them off the road and rammed the car twice on the driver’s side before fleeing.”

Previously, Lambert said investigators determined that Hodges’ acted deliberately when he struck the car.

The two females suffered non-life threatening injuries, and the driver was transported to D.W. McMillan Hospital for treatment.

Lambert said throughout the week Hodges continued to make threats toward his ex-wife.

“We received several complaints that he made many credible threats against the victim,” Lambert said of Hodges. “We received information that he was visiting the Pensacola soup kitchen and were able to get assistance from the Escambia County, Fla., fugitive task force.”

Lambert said Hodges was also wanted for a failure to appear warrant from Escambia County, Fla.

Currently, Hodges is being held in the Escambia County, Fla., Jail.