On October 1, 2021, 58-year-old William Mealback Jr. was shot in the head inside his truck on Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Martin later fled in Mealback’s vehicle, triggering a police pursuit that ended behind the Southgate Mall in Muscle Shoals.

A shootout followed the chase in which two Sheffield Police officers, Sergeant Nick Risner and Lieutenant Max Dotson, were struck. Sgt. Risner was critically wounded and died the next day. Lt. Dotson was wounded but protected by his ballistic vest. Martin was wounded in the exchange and taken into custody.

Martin, who had been convicted of manslaughter in the 2011 death of his father and released after serving just over three years of a ten-year sentence, faces multiple charges for the October 1 events, including three counts of capital murder, three counts of attempted murder, and abuse of a corpse. He has undergone multiple evaluations and has been found competent to stand trial; the court has separated the case into one focused on Sgt. Risner’s death and another on Mealback’s killing.

If anyone knew William Mealback Jr. or observed the events on Avalon Avenue that day, please share what might help investigators or the community understand what happened.