No bail reduction in DWI death case

FRANKLIN — A judge refused to lower the bail for the Franklin man accused of leaving the scene of an accident where a woman was thrown from the car he was driving while he was intoxicated in a predawn incident April 12.
Sixteenth Judicial District Judge James McClelland kept the $250,000 bail set for Albert Murphy, 58, of Second Street in Franklin in a court hearing July 2.
Franklin Police Chief Sabria McGuire said Murphy was charged at 7:48 a.m. April 12 with vehicular homicide, vehicular negligent injuring, reckless operation of a vehicle, simple criminal damage to property, no driver’s license and failure to report an accident. McGuire said Murphy’s blood alcohol content was 0.162 percent, over twice the 0.08 percent at which a driver is charged with intoxication.
Murphy reportedly ran his vehicle into Franklin Junior High School on Morris Street in Franklin shortly around 2:30 a.m. A female passenger, later identified as Carmelita “Dannie” Ferguson, 40, of Franklin, was said by police to have been ejected from the vehicle and left dead at the scene.
While Franklin Police were en route to an accident called in to 911, they were told a pair of possible suspects were walking toward the railroad tracks, according to the police arrest affidavit.
Murphy and David Woods were located and detained by police and then questioned, the affidavit said. Franklin police said they determined Woods, who was owner of the vehicle, was a passenger in the vehicle and was transported to the hospital with injuries to his face and head. Franklin police did not charge Woods in the incident.
Clerk of Court records in Franklin show more than two dozen arrests of Murphy since 1975, including seven arrests since 2001, on charges that include battery, assault, drug possession and possession of a weapon by a felon.
Murphy was arraigned through a video hookup with the parish jail in Centerville June 23. Public defender Susan Dorsey entered a plea of not guilty and requested a jury trial.
Murphy’s next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 8.