On Monday, April 22, 2013 the Auburn Police Division arrested Deunte R. Gordon, age 21, of Phenix City, Alabama, and charged him with Theft of Property 1st Degree.  His arrest stems from the investigation of a police report dated January 16, 2013 in which the victim stated that someone stole a 2006 Nissan Altima from their used car lot located in the 1100 block of Opelika Road.  Gordon was transported to the Lee County Detention Center where his bond was set at $7,500.  The vehicle has since been recovered from a residence in Tuskegee, Alabama.

Information Source: Auburn Police

VALLEY, AL (WSFA)- An East Alabama high school was place on lockdown Thursday as law enforcement officers of the Chambers County Sheriff's Department, Lanett Police Department, Opelika Police Department and Auburn Police Department, as well as Officers of the Fifth Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force, conducted a joint K-9 Search for illegal drugs.

While the officers searched Valley High School Thursday morning, their K-9 detectives sniffed out some unexpected items: A large amount of marijuana and an AK-47 rifle.

Lanett P.D. K-9 "Marco" alerted in the gym resulting in the seizure of 18 bags of marijuana.

Chambers County Sheriff's Department K-9 "Ice" alerted on a vehicle in the parking lot which resulted in the seizure of marijuana residue and a loaded magazine from the passenger compartment of the vehicle and a firearm from the trunk of the vehicle.

Alabama Department of Labor Commissioner Tom Surtees announced today that Alabama’s preliminary March unemployment rate remained unchanged at 7.2%. March 2012’s rate was also 7.2%. March’s rate represents 155,071 unemployed persons, compared to 154,790 last month, and 156,224 last year.

In Lee County, the unemployment rate for March was 5.8%, down from 6.4% in February and down from 6.2% a year ago.

“This month we continued to see the labor force grow, which tells us that more people are re-gaining confidence in the job market. We also saw the number of people with jobs grow by nearly 7,000, with only a slight increase in the number of unemployed,” said Surtees. “Even though the rate didn’t decrease, these are still positive signs.”

The civilian labor force increased in March to 2,164,497, up from 2,157,556 in February and 2,156,362 last year.