BY SARAH STEPHENS
ELMORE/AUTAUGA NEWS
The Elmore Sheriff’s Office has turned over an investigation of one of their deputies fatally shooting a man wielding a machete Wednesday evening to the Chilton County Sheriff’s Office.
However, Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin said he has personally met with the family of the man, and his deputies involved.
“This is just a horrible situation, and I truly feel for this family,” Sheriff Franklin said. “As for my deputy, I can tell you there is nothing easy about this situation. None of us wake up in the morning wanting to think we may have to kill someone. But it happens, and unfortunately, I am afraid it will happen again eventually.”
Jonathan Pears, 32, was shot in the upper torso, and died at the scene.
According to Franklin, around 5:30 p.m. personnel with Haynes Ambulance responded to a medical call on Timber Lane in Emerald Mountain.
“The personnel were there for about 10 minutes but when they left they were thoughtful enough to realize it was a potential domestic violence situation. They called 911 to give us a heads up,” Franklin said. “Almost immediately, Franklin’s dispatch officer received a 911 call from a family member at the residence. The dispatcher stayed on the phone and could hear loud voices in the background with one saying, ‘I am not going back.’ We had no idea what that was about at the time. But the family member told the dispatcher that her son had a gun and asked for help from us.”
Franklin said when a deputy arrived, a man identifying himself as the father came out the front door. The deputy stopped him to talk to him to try and understand what was happening. Then a man later identified as Jonathan Pears exited the house through the front door armed with a machete-like weapon.
“We believe that at different points Pears had handgun, a shotgun, but when he came outside he had a very large machete with an 18-inch blade and about an eight inch handle, so basically a two-foot weapon,” Franklin said. “The fellow was wielding it, and came at the deputy who was holding back the father. The deputy repeatedly told (Pears) to stop, but he continued coming at the deputy and the father.”
The deputy then fired at the armed man who continued to move forward in a threatening manner. A deputy on scene immediately tried lifesaving measures and medics were called, Franklin said. However, Pears was pronounced dead on the scene by the Elmore County Coroner’s Office.
“We immediately called a third party law enforcement agency to investigate, as it was one of our deputies involved,” Franklin said.
“Obviously, Mr. Pears was wrestling with some type of emotional issue. We understand he had tried to seek help in the past for those issues. To my knowledge, we had never had any dealings with Mr. Pears in the past. I talked to the Mom and Dad and they seem like very good people. It is just a horrible situation.”
While Franklin said he could not speak with authority on this particular situation, he is very well aware that trying to find help for people with mental issues has become increasingly difficult. Beds for confinement and treatment are extremely difficult to come by. COVID did not help the situation.
“It didn’t always used to be this way. It is so difficult to get help. Families are trying to have a loved one committed, but there is a backlog between the time they are finally committed and the time the state has a place to put them,” Franklin said.
In speaking with multiple public officials relating to different articles on mental health recently, that seems to be an all-too-frequent problem. Even patients who have been committed don’t always have an immediate opening for service, and at times are sent back to family who are not prepared to care for their mental illness.
This is when tragedies can happen, have happened recently, and without major improvement will more than likely occur again officials tell us.
It is no longer a certainty that a mental health patient will receive treatment simply because they may be a danger to themselves or others. That is a very frightening fact, officials say. But it is the reality they are dealing with daily.
“Around 2000, everything seemed to change. I am not sure if the state was remiss in allotting the proper amount of funds. But I think every sheriff in Alabama will tell you this is a very sore subject with us. The state is not handling this situation with intent and professionalism. It is only going to get worse when you consider all of these synthetic and designer drugs on the market,” Franklin said.
He stressed that not every mental health case involves a problem of drug or alcohol abuse.
“They can, but that is not always the case. Sometimes you just have person suffering from mental illness, and there is nowhere to turn,” he said. Sometimes mental health patients turn to drugs and alcohol to self-medicate.
Law enforcement agencies cannot hold a person in jail for mental illness. There must also be a criminal charge involved. But they will be quick to say even though a crime may have been committed, jail is not the proper place for them to be held without access to mental health services.
The EAN has reached out to the Montgomery Area Mental Health Authority to try and get answers on the current status of available beds for emergency situations. We hope to have a follow up article on that soon.
From The Montgomery Area Mental Health Authority website
We are a public, non-profit corporation which is governed by a 24-member Board of Directors. This Board is appointed by local governments under the Authority of Alabama Act 310 of the 1967 Alabama Legislature. We provide a continuum of mental health services for persons with mental illness in a four county area in central Alabama, which includes Montgomery County, Autauga County, Elmore County and Lowndes County.
The Authority is certified by the Alabama Department of Mental Health (ADMH) as a Community Mental Health Center. Accordingly, services are provided in accordance with the Community Mental Health Program Standards promulgated by ADMH. Also, the Agency holds membership in the National Council for Community Behavioral Health Care and the Alabama Council of Community Mental Health Boards.
Fees are charged for services provided. However, some individuals may qualify for a reduced fee based upon family income and size. Some insurances may be billed for eligible services.
Under MAMHA, their website lists five facilities. They include the MAMHA Complex on Upper Wetumpka Road in Montgomery; the Fountain Center on Glynwood Drive in Prattville (Note: “Image Coming Soon” is displayed); Hillside Mental Health Center on U.S. 231 in Wetumpka; Lowndes County Mental Health Center in Hayneville; and Adolescent Total Care on Coliseum Boulevard in Montgomery (Note: “Image Coming Soon” is displayed.)
If you have questions about services offered by MAMHA, you can reach them by phone at 334-279-7830 (24 Hours) or by mail at 2140 Upper Wetumpka Road, Montgomery, AL 36107.
In Alabama, mental health commitments are handled through the Probate Judge in each county.
You can visit the MAMHA website at mamha.org.
