Capital murder defendant jailed with father of victim transferred after alleged assault

Jul. 17—A Decatur man accused of killing Dustin Grimes last November in a Lawrence County home invasion was in the Lawrence County Jail with Grimes' father for around two months before he was allegedly assaulted and transferred to another jail last week at the request of his attorneys.

Jordan Cesar Hernandez, 36, was apprehended on Nov. 5, the day after the alleged home invasion, after leading multiple law enforcement agencies in a chase before crashing his vehicle east of Calvary Assembly of God, off Alabama 20, according to the Decatur Police Department. Police said Hernandez shot a firearm at pursuing vehicles.

"He's making all kinds of wild accusations, and they granted him to be moved to another jail," said Lawrence County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Brian Covington. "So, he's in another jail."

Karen Grimes, Dustin Grimes' wife, was allegedly kidnapped during the home invasion before later escaping while being forced to withdraw money from an ATM, according to testimony from LCSO Lt. Adam Lentz at a preliminary hearing last year for Auburn Renee Moore of New Hope.

Moore, 36, and Asia Schontelle Hubbard, 27, of Decatur, are charged with murder, first-degree kidnapping and first-degree robbery for their alleged roles in the home invasion. Lentz testified that Moore shared an open-marriage relationship with Dustin and Karen Grimes.

Hernandez is represented by court-appointed attorneys Tony Hughes and Jeffery Redcross, along with pro bono attorney Jennifer Olive. Last Thursday, Hughes filed an emergency motion to relocate Hernandez.

"The alleged victim's father is currently in the Lawrence County Jail and has made the Defendant concerned for his safety," Hughes wrote. "Earlier this week, the Defendant was assaulted by two inmates because of the alleged victim's family and a Co-Defendant's family."

Circuit Judge Callie Waldrep ordered Hernandez's relocation on Friday. Covington on Tuesday disputed the assault allegation.

"That's what he says," he said. "We have no record of it. He says there's family members of the victim in the jail, which I think the guy's daddy is there, Mickey Grimes."

Jail and court records show Mickey Grimes, 67, was booked on May 9 for a bond violation. He was charged with felony DUI in July 2023 and charged again with a DUI in May of this year. He remained in Lawrence County Jail on Tuesday.

"I don't think they were housed in the same pod," Covington said when asked if Mickey Grimes' booking should have raised red flags. He said the jail has around four "pods" which hold 20-25 people each.

"Every pod has security cameras, multiple cameras at multiple angles," he said. He said Hernandez was moved to the Colbert County Jail last Thursday or Friday.

Redcross was reluctant to elaborate on the specifics surrounding the alleged assault out of concern for his client's safety.

"Yes, it should have raised some red flags," he said of Mickey Grimes' booking. "Had we known it, we would have immediately requested that he be transferred out of the jail. When we found out about it, we immediately requested that he be transferred, and the sheriff was very accommodating.

"It's just one of those things where Dustin's dad came in, and he was just another inmate to the intake people, and they just booked him in just like another prisoner. Nobody said anything, probably Mr. Grimes didn't say anything, and they just ended up in the same area and things happened."

Redcross said Hernandez suffered "minor injuries."

Police oversight expert Michael Gennaco said the primary responsibility of a jail is to keep inmates safe and housed while they await trial. Gennaco is a former trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division with experience prosecuting jailers in Alabama and elsewhere. He said jail assaults are underreported.

"I think the layout of the facility has a lot to do with it," he said. "I think the diligence of deputies entrusted with keeping inmates safe has a lot to do with it. Usually, inmates are not in single cells, so you've got to be very vigilant in reviewing the classification history of inmates before you put them in a cell together.

"Ideally, it's one of the most important decisions that individuals running the jail are making, and they're making them every day for people that are booked into the facility."

Comprehensive data on jail violence in Alabama is difficult to come by, since jails are operated by separate, local entities.

"I think there's significant pressures for incarcerated people to not report it, or not support an investigation, with the culture sort of being: We'll take care of this ourselves," Gennaco said. "Which is not good, because that means it will likely result in more violence. And I don't know if there is enough interest in reporting out incidents, because I think, for certain people running the jail, there's a self-interest in trying to prevent information like that from getting out."

Moore was arrested in Decatur on Nov. 4 by a Morgan County Sheriff's Office SWAT team. She remained in Lawrence County Jail on Tuesday with no bond. Hubbard was indicted by a grand jury on June 14 and arrested on June 18. She was released from jail on June 20 on a $130,000 bond, according to court records. Hernandez remained in Colbert County Jail on Tuesday with no bond.

— david.gambino@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438.