Hearing held for man charged in attack on Birmingham detective - AL.com
The mother of a Center Point man charged with attempted murder last week in the pistol-whipping of a Birmingham police detective told a judge Tuesday that the family would be hiring their own lawyer to represent him. Janard Shamar Cunningham, 34, appeared before Jefferson County District Court Judge Shelly Watkins for a "first call" hearing. During that brief hearing the judge asked Cunningham if he needed to have a lawyer appointed to represent him. Cunningham's mother, who came to court, told the judge the family had hired an attorney. During the first hearing on Monday – a 48-hour hearing – the judge had advised Cunningham of the charges and his rights. Cunningham is charged in the beating of a detective during an 11 a. m. Friday traffic stop in the 9100 block of Parkway East. Authorities said Cunningham stole the detective's gun and then repeatedly hit him in the head until the detective stopped moving. The detective, in plain clothes and an unmarked car, had stopped a maroon 2012 GMC Yukon, possibly in connection with some burglaries in the area. Cunningham got out of the vehicle despite the officer's demands, and began to question the detective about why he was being stopped, police said. Source: www.al.com
