Posted by on March 18, 2005 at 18:11:32:
MONTGOMERY, Ala. The head of an outdoors TV channel has pleaded guilty to trespassing in Selma. Perry Thomas Massie -- president and CEO of Outdoor Channel Holdings -- had been facing a felony charge of violating an Alabama law designed to protect artifacts. An attorney representing him entered the plea to the lesser violation today and he was fined 500 dollars plus court costs. The attorney, Mark White, says Massie wanted to put the case behind him and the fine was less than the cost of flying back to Alabama for another court appearance.
Massie and a diver from Birmingham were arrested in Selma in October 2003 and accused of pulling a pre-Civil War rifle from the Alabama River without a permit. District Attorney Michael Jackson says he's pursued the case because historical tourism is important to Selma's economy and he wants to protect the area's artifacts.
Massie's co-defendnat, Steve Phillips, is scheduled for trial August first.