Man arrested in Gadsden home invasion also tied to notorious 1992 murder case

ETOWAH COUNTY, AL (WBRC) - One of three people arrested in a Friday home invasion in Gadsden was involved in one of Etowah County's most notorious murder cases.

James Matthew Ward, 41, was arrested over the weekend, along with his sister Jennifer Ward and another suspect, Amber Decker. All three are charged with first degree burglary.

Authorities confirm this is the same James Matthew Ward who was charged with capital murder in the 1992 shooting death of Southside dairy farmer Gary Myrick.

A statement he made to Southside Police at the time claimed Ward was driving the car used when two other suspects fired automatic weapons out the car windows at the Myrick farmhouse.

Myrick was gunned down as he stepped out the back door. However, the statements among the three suspects varied, and then-district attorney James Hedgspeth said "we may never know" which suspect played which role in that case.

The case made waves throughout Etowah County and Alabama at the time, as Myrick was the son of then-ALFA president Goodwyn Myrick.

In the most recent incident, a Gadsden police report indicates three people broke into a home on Merit Springs Road last Friday while a 13-year-old girl was apparently at home by herself.

The report indicates the girl escaped and called for help, her father arrived and fired a gunshot to scare the suspects out of the house.

The report indicates the three got away in a white Dodge pickup but were caught a short time later. In the process, the report indicates the suspects dropped the items they tried to steal, including a television set, a computer, a firearm and jewelry.

All three are being held without bond in the Etowah County Jail. Jennifer Ward is also charged with a probation violation and a failure to appear warrant, and Decker is charged with two counts of fraudulent use of a credit card and one count of distribution of a controlled substance.

In the original Myrick case, Ward was charged with capital murder because the death happened as a result of firing shots from a moving car. But he entered a guilty plea to manslaughter and received a ten year suspended sentence.

Having been held in the Etowah County Jail for the four years prior to his 1992 arrest, he was released immediately, only to have his probation revoked in 1998, according to court records.

Another suspect in the case, David Dale Adcock, also entered a guilty plea to manslaughter. Originally charged as a juvenile, Adcock was ordered to stand trial as an adult and received the same ten year sentence as Ward.

The Adcock case was one of the earliest ones on which Jimmie Harp served as a deputy prosecutor. Harp was later elected to two terms as district attorney and died of cancer in July.

The shooting had allegedly happened as "payback" over a dispute between Adcock one of Myrick's twin sons. Southside police at the time suggested the motive may have actually been intended only as property damage meant as a "scare tactic," with Myrick getting caught in the gunfire behind his own home.

A third suspect was declared a youthful offender and was expected to testify against the other two, but his testimony was never used as neither of the other two ever went on trial.

Ward is being held in the Etowah County Jail without bond in the most recent home invasion/burglary case, as are the two women arrested.