Probable cause found in Enterprise murder case

An Enterprise man has been bound over to a grand jury by District Court Judge Chris Kaminski after a three-hour preliminary hearing on Friday, March 11.

David Montel Cunningham, 20, was arrested and charged with capital murder on Friday, Feb. 18. He was arrested following an investigation into the death of James Matthew Hill, 33, of Enterprise, at a Walding Street apartment.

During the preliminary hearing, Detective Kyle Hale, with the Enterprise Police Department, testified the Coffee County Sheriff's Department received a phone call providing information that a "heinous crime" had occurred.

Jeff Ivie, who hired Cunningham to work on his family farm, identified the residence and the suspect to law enforcement.

According to Hale, officers visited the apartment after an initial meeting at Medical Center Enterprise, which served as a "rally point." They did not observe anything outside the residence and knocked on the door to attempt to make contact with anyone inside.

There was no answer to the knock, according to Hale. Officers then checked to see if the door was locked and found it was not. The door was opened slightly, and an officer observed what appeared to be a body.

The EPD began a death investigation at 3:08 p.m. Feb. 18, according to a press release.

Hale testified that Ivie, who he said was a convict, provided information about the alleged murder as told to him by Cunningham, including where to find the clothing Cunningham wore during the alleged crime.

Defense Attorney Sonny Reagan said Ivie was out on a $270,000 bond during the time the murder investigation took place.

Reagan said Ivie had a history of domestic violence and various drug-related offenses, including manufacturing, trafficking and possession. Ivie was re-arrested on a possession charge two days after Cunningham was arrested for capital murder, according to Reagan.

During testimony, Detective Gerard Dube, with the EPD, said he interviewed Ivie after Cunningham was apprehended by the CCSO.

According to Dube, Ivie contacted the sheriff's office after taking "a quick glance" into the living room of the apartment where Hill's body was found.

The detective said that Ivie said he received numerous calls from Cunningham from Hill's phone on the night of Feb. 17. Cunningham was asking for Ivie to come pick him up from the apartment; Ivie refused, saying he was going to bed, Dube said.

On Feb. 18, Ivie arrived at the Walding Street apartment to pick Cunningham up to take him to work at the farm, Dube said, adding that when Cunningham did not leave the apartment to get into his vehicle, Ivie knocked on the door.

Dube said Ivie told officers he noticed a scratch on Cunningham's head and cuts on his hands, and when Ivie asked if Hill was okay, Cunningham opened the door slightly.

The detective also said Ivie told him that he saw what he believed to be a body covered in sheets.

Hale, who was part of the initial investigation of the residence, described the scene where the body was found.

According to Hale, there was a line of salt the length of the threshold of the doorway to the living room, and there was also a ring of salt found in the room.

On two of the walls, there were messages in silver spray paint, according to Hale. He said one message said "Episode 7" with an arrow pointing to a Spongebob (Squarepants) doll; the other said, "Do you know the Muffin Man?"

The body, Hale said, was covered with two multi-colored blankets. He also explained that there were three items on top of the blankets: an Alabama Medicare card with the victim's name, a watch and a can of wound wash saline solution.

He said salt was also sprinkled on the body.

Hale said a beige hand towel was found on the victim's head underneath the blankets; under the hand towel was a red bandana that was tied around the victim's head.

There were stabs wounds visible at the base of the neck, and multiple slash wounds were also visible on both sides of the head and arms, Hale said.

The victim was laying face down with his hands bound with charger cables, and his feet were bound with hair clippers and its cord, according to Hale.

Around the body, there was a broken day bed that had two picture frames, the Spongebob doll and Hill's open wallet, according to Hale.

A handheld fishing game, a salt container, a silver flashlight and a small pair of scissors with a broken finger loop were also found covered in blood near the body, Hale said.

According to Hale, other messages were spray painted throughout the residence, including one in the kitchen that said, "I like peanut butter?" He also said the bedroom was also found in "a state of disarray."

Officers, using the information provided by Ivie, found a green military-style laundry bag in the trash can marked for apartment 110B outside the residence. The bag contained clothing, silver spray paint and a medical bracelet with Cunningham's name, according to Hale. Another bag contained bloody clothes and a lock blade knife, believed to have been involved in the alleged murder, Hale said.

He also said a .28 barrel to a gun was also found in the residence, but there was no stock.

On Saturday, Feb. 20, Hale said officers received information that Ivie had possession of a .243 rifle belonging to Hill, which was later found in the backseat of Ivie's mother's vehicle.

The preliminary autopsy report said the cause of death was a combination of blunt force trauma and stab wounds, according to Hale.

A second search of the residence found a baseball bat with what appeared to have three bloody fingerprints and a Maglite flashlight, Hale said.

Cunningham told Ivie that he and Hill got into a fight after Hill accused Cunningham of stealing his medication, according to Hale, who also explained that Cunningham then punched Hill, which knocked him back, breaking the day bed in the living room.

Cunningham then grabbed the knife and blacked out, according to Hale.

When Cunningham came to, he saw Hill crawling on the floor calling for God to help him, which Ivie told officers was when Cunningham "finished what he started," Hale said.

Ivie made plans with Chief Deputy Ronnie Whitworth to meet at the Kountry Korner gas station, at the intersection of County Road 125 and Highway 167, at 4 p.m. to deliver Cunningham to law enforcement, according to CCSO Investigator Mark Ross.

When officers captured Cunningham, he had a bag and an EBT card with Hill's name in his wallet, Ross said.

Dube said Cunningham "spontaneously uttered" a statement that Hill allowed him to use the EBT card.

Defense attorneys Reagan and James Tarbox twice attempted to stop the hearing from moving to a grand jury.

Reagan said the state failed to prove the burden of probable cause based on a lack of evidence proving the complaint of robbery in connection with the capital murder charge. Kaminski denied both attempts.

The defense also asked for Cunningham to be placed on bond, which was also denied.

Cunningham was transported back to the Coffee County Jail where he is being held on no bond.