In the late summer of 2011, the city of Anniston, Alabama, was rocked by the tragic death of one of its own. Justin David Sollohub, a 27-year-old male police officer, died on August 25, 2011, after being shot in the head the previous day. A graduate of Jacksonville High School and Jacksonville State University, Sollohub had been with the Anniston Police Department for two years and was a member of its Special Response Team.
The series of events leading to Officer Sollohub's death began
on the morning of August 24, 2011. While on patrol, he stopped to speak with a pedestrian near the intersection of 19th Street and Moore Avenue. As Sollohub exited his vehicle, the man fled on foot. A chase ensued, leading them down an alley and into the backyard of a residence. It was there that the suspect, identified as Joshua Eugene Russell, pulled out a handgun and shot Officer Sollohub once in the head. The officer's firearm remained in its holster.
Following the shooting, a massive manhunt was launched, involving multiple police departments. Russell was apprehended later the same day after being found hiding in a drainpipe. Sollohub was transported to a local hospital and then flown to a hospital in Birmingham, where he was placed on life support. He succumbed to his injuries the following day. In a final act of service, his organs were donated.
Joshua Russell was initially charged with attempted murder, but the charges were upgraded to capital murder following Officer Sollohub's death. The trial was moved to Lee County due to the extensive pretrial publicity in Calhoun County. During the trial, Russell did not deny shooting Sollohub but claimed he only intended to scare the officer so he could escape and that the gun went off unexpectedly. In September 2013, a jury convicted Russell of capital murder. On December 16, 2013, he was sentenced to death. However, following a new sentencing trial years later, his sentence was changed to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
