Police Searching for Man Who Robbed Dollar General

(BIRMINGHAM, Ala.) -- Authorities are searching for a man accused of armed robbery at a discount store in east Birmingham Friday morning.

According to the Birmingham News, the suspect entered the Dollar General on Pinson Valley Parkway at approximately 8:30 a.m. on Friday wearing a mask and carrying a handgun.

After the suspect robbed the store clerk, he fled on foot, says the News.

Police have not yet caught the suspect and K-9 units have been brought in to aid in the search.

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Montgomery Co. Man Pleads Guilty to Role in Tax Refund Scheme

(MONTGOMERY, Ala.) -- A Montgomery County man has pleaded guilty to being involved in a scheme where dozens of tax refund checks were fraudulently obtained and then cashed.

Rodriquez Thomas pleaded guilty on Thursday to conspiring to cash fraudulently-obtained federal tax refund checks, the Department of Justice stated.

Court documents indicated that Thomas and two co-conspirators cashed approximately 77 fraudulently-obtained refund checks totalling over $137,000. Authorities say the checks were obtained by filing fraudulent tax returns, and then cashed by a bank teller who was also part of the scheme.

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Birmingham Man Fatally Shot During Altercation

(BIRMINGHAM, Ala.) -- Birmingham Police are investigating the murder of a local man, who was gunned down on Thursday.

The shooting was reported shortly before noon on the 700 block of 23rd Street Southwest. Police say when they responded to the scene they found 20-year-old Carlos Mims suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. Investigators believe Mims was shot during an altercation with the suspect at a residence.

Mims was pronounced dead at the scene.

A suspect in the killing was taken into custody a short distance away from the scene.

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Man Fatally Electrocuted While Doing Construction Work

(BIRMINGHAM, Ala.) -- A man working near power lines in the Forest Park and South Avondale area of Birmingham was fatally electrocuted on Wednesday.

According to the Birmingham News, police and firefighters were called to the 3700 block of 6th Avenue South just before 12 p.m. on Wednesday.

During the course of his work, Harlen Miles, 61, reportedly hit a power line and was electrocuted and killed, says the News.

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Mystery Illness Claims Two Lives

(BIRMINGHAM, Ala.) -- Federal and State heath officials are working to find out more about a cluster of mystery respiratory illness that have infected a number of people in southeast Alabama.

The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH), the Houston County Health Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating the illnesses, which have sent at least seven people to the hospital so far with two of those people dying.

Health officials say laboratory samples have been obtained from all patients and testing continues at the ADPH Bureau of Clinical Laboratories and the CDC’s Respiratory Laboratory.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio