Mark Edwin Montgomery
FLORENCE – A Lauderdale county man is in jail facing two capital murder charges. Mark Montgomery, 37, of County Road 10 is being held in connection with the shooting deaths of two women in the Cloverdale Community.
Deputies were called to the scene about 2:30pm Monday afternoon after a caller reported hearing gunfire in a nearby residence. Inside the modest house were found the bodies of Joanna Strickland Butler and Clo Ann Taylor Stoner.
Shortly after the murder scene was discovered, a high speed chase began as Law Enforcement officers spotted Montgomery’s SUV speeding away from the scene. The chase through Northern Lauderdale lasted for about 45 minutes in which time officers pursued the vehicle into parts of Tennessee. It all came to an end when Montgomery, according to officials, drove back to the crime scene. He was stopped, and was arrested.
He is currently being held in the Florence/Lauderdale Detention Center awaiting his first appearance in court.
Montgomery is known to have a history of encounters with police. Lauderdale County Sheriff Chief Investigator, Deputy Travis Clemmons said, “In the past, we’ve had some things concerning this same individual that was threat to some police officers also.”
This is a Lauderdale County Detention Center booking photo of Montgomery from 2012. He was arrested for domestic violence allegedly towards one of the shooting victims in this week’s murder.
Mark Edward Montgomery
