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Porn Bust: Police Raid Barber Shop, Seize Videos
January 12, 2012
Police raided a Flomaton barbershop Wednesday afternoon because they say the barber was selling more than haircuts.
Barber Garvin Eugene Chancery, age 60, was charged with two counts of distribution of obscene material after officers seized alleged pornographic movies from his Gene’s Barber Shop in Flomaton.
“Our investigation revealed that he was selling adult DVD’s from the shop for $3 each,” Flomaton Police Chief Geoff McGraw said following the raid. “When you got finished with your movie, he would even buy it back for $1.”
McGraw said his department seized 16 allegedly pornographic DVDs and several VHS tapes. He said that none of the videos were believed to involve child pornography, but he said the Flomaton Police Department would review the contents of each video.
Gene’s Barber Shop is located in small building on Palafox Street in downtown Flomaton, across the street from a shoe shop and next door to a church. A rail yard and the Florida line are in sight of the building, as is the heart of Flomaton’s business district.
“That’s not the kind of business we wanted in downtown Flomaton, especially next door to a church,” McGraw said.
The police chief said it is illegal to sell pornographic materials in Alabama without the proper licenses and permits — none of which Chancery had.
Chancery, a longtime barber, was released on his own recognizance.
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Comments
108 Responses to “Porn Bust: Police Raid Barber Shop, Seize Videos”
I have known Gene all my life. I’m not a Flomation resident but grew up there, I live in a neighbor town. There were so many comments and also the news article that was misleading it seem to be more than what is was don’t know if any of the dvd and videos were sold or not all I ever hear about in that shop in Football. Gene has been really good to people not only in Flomaton, also my town Jay. He has donated his time in this community to help people. My brother-in- law could not come in because of sickness Gene made a trip all the over and charged nothing for his haircut. So many comments, has been made and runaway gossip. It’s so unfair to do a person this way just for not having a proper permit or Lic.
I hope you stay strong gene…and mcgrew gets gone..along with mayor…oh I meant yes man…..and silent town counsel…
wow, thats flomaton’s finest. BIG sting operation, is a couple of pornos?! not even childeren porn, just good ol’ loving flims! good lord people he was doing our community a service!!! i am stunned. lol! keep your head up old man!
If the police are this bored why dont they raid some of the deadbeats not supporting there children,atleast this man is supporting himself… just saying yall need a reality check
instead of being mad at gene for selling your husband porn get mad at hubby for buying it
I will begin by saying I HATE porn and believe it to be Bibically & morally wrong! Having said that I also must say, HE who is WITHOUT SIN cast the first stone and christians be careful about judging others. Your sin may not be a sin to someone else and love and forgiveness goes a long way!
Apparently it is legal to do what Gene was doing in Alabama as long as he has proper license, etc……. so here is my question………….
In a small town like Flomaton where it seems rules and laws are made as they go along, wasn’t there a way this could have been handled differently and discreetly? Instead of the production that was made that looks like someone on the PD Force or council wanted their minute in the spotlight, couldn’t they have went to him (for goodness sake everybody knows everybody) and said remove it or get your license??? Or is someone locally trying to make such a fuss over this that all eyes will be taken off something (or someone) else going on yet to be revealed?
This is a small town and there are things happening that are not always on the up and up so make sure if you start raiding, seizing, or arresting that you do it across the board and not single out an easy target for self serving fame!
I do know & like Gene and I wish because HE HAS helped so many others, that he wouldn’t have had this lapse or oversight in judgement. By that I only mean not having his license and records in order to sell the DVD’s. . Having this in his shop wasn’t the best decision Gene has ever made, but I’m glad mercy was extended to me in my times of wrong choices and I hope the town will be forgiving to him, and I hope the PD will use this as a learning tool on how they handle laws, enforce them, and carry them out.
Here is the problem with all this publicity when things like this get release. first, i assume this case will proceed to court. when things like this are published how can you expect someone to get a fair and impartial trial. you can’t . let’s say he is innocent. it doesn’t matter because you already ruined his life and business from this article that makes him appear completely guilty. i agree the public has a right to know what is happening in their community but the release of information should be such that it does not give light to so much information that a person already is determined guilty way before trail. just my thought.
In a perfect world, our police department would be able to apprehend all those who would be a threat to society.
We do not live in a perfect world. People and Police make mistakes. They don’t get the proper business license, they sell drugs and they act before seeking counsel. This is life.
This unfortunate situation has once again put Flomaton in the spotlight, providing the county with a good laugh.
We the people have the opportunity to put this to rest quietly or we can really stir the pot at the next council meeting and rant and rave. This should really give our neighboring towns a good laugh. They love to read the on going Flomaton Saga.
It is my hope the people of Flomaton will show the Chancery Family mercy, by allowing this situation to die as quietly as possible. It is also my hope that we the people of Flomaton will show the county how to handle circumstances like this with dignity.
If the police department has handled this in the wrong way, please allow the mayor and the council to do their job.
Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.Leave gene alone and go chase down some of the crackheads selling dope or the nasty whores running up and down the streets of flomaton ……gene wouldn’t hurt a fly and would help anyone that needed it ,,,leave the man alone ……..
@ poohbear..
Do u know this man.. so what. He probably sold porn to your husband or wife.. that’s why your so hard on him. He didn’t have a license. So what?? This man has done more for this community than any of you or your family.. Don’t b so negative with the comments. Yes the police were doing their job but did it have to b so extreme. He didn’t hurt anyone.. Instead of going after ppl that really do commit crimes they go after a guy who has had a successful TAX paying business for over 40 years..
When is next town council meeting….maybe the clown counsel and mcgruff will show up….
You know when I read all these comments about what a good person Gene is, it really makes me wonder what the world is really coming to, You are making this man that is selling Illigal porn out to be the best person in the world. I am thankful that I really don’t know any of you. Here you have a police chief that is doing his job and you are cutting him down to the ground or at least you are trying to but what if it was your husband or wife that he sold the porn to and you didn’t believe that it was right or you didn’t like your husband or wife seeing this kind of material, you would be singing a different tune. Again I say Thank You Chief for doing your job.
I for one like poohbears comment….it true… U can call me an idiot to I don’t have a reason to care what you all thank
Why would you go to a council meeting and try to get the chief of police removed for simply enforcing the law? So I guess then if somebody steals your phone, or your car, and they are a nice guy, it’s not against the law?
What kind of pretzel logic is this? The law was violated. Period. The police have their reasons, and we need to support them, not run our mouths.
No where in the article did it say he was arrested. Ppl sell drugs, steal n kill but yet they don’t get this much attention. It was not called for. This man has been good to the town of Flomaton. This is the thanks he gets. So what he had so called porn movies for sell. He probably bought them from someone so they could have money.. think about what this man’s family is going thru.
We all know if you are someones Dad or who the police thinks is important in this town, they turn the other way and allow the law violation. They could have went and talked with this man and had him remove the videos. I think the man would have complied with this request and the issue would have been resolved. Why did they need to make an arrest? How can you justify arresting this man and not arresting certain ” special people” in Flomaton for breaking the law. What is the difference?
I am ashamed at the actions of the police department to make ” headlines” with a citizen of Flomaton for their own agenda. Do we see you making any drug bust unless you happen to find it right under your nose? What did this gain for anyone to notify the press of the bust? Do each of you abide by the law and represent the police department in a professional manner?
Go after the drugs in Flomaton and make headlines with that type of bust. You gained no respect or brownie points from this citizen for making this arrest. Check your own department out first to see if you are representing the citizens of Flomaton. We all need to show up at the next town council meeting and voice our complaints.
Pooh bear,
I guess you dont know the differance between a violation and criminal act; read my post again, do you go to jail for not having a fishing or hunting license, no, you pay a fine, Gene, did not commit a criminal act he did not have a license, thats a big differance. it is not illegal to own pornagrapy in alabama, and no I would not call flomaton pd, I am a certified police officer myself and would call the county first
poohbear don’t be a freakin idiot, even in most adult stores they keep that stuff hidden in case kids wander in. genes barbershop caters to kids too so that should show you right there that he has enough respect to keep it away from minors
I can only guess that those that are supporting the PD, are not from here, don’t know gene or havent live here very long. first of all its not against the law to own pornagraphy in alabama, it is however, against the law to sell it without a licence so lets get that straigt, second, normally the town mails out a letter if someone is in violation of not having a license and is given time to correct the problem third chief mgraw could have easily talked to gene but know he wanted to get his name in the paper. I noticed that mcgraw said we’re not going to have that kinda of activity in out town! Really, last I checked mgraw still lived in Brewton.
To family friend
If someone breaks into your home, who are you going to call, Gene or the Flomaton Police Dept? If you want to help Gene then give Gene some money so he won’t have to break the law to make ends meet.
Ok folks, let get behind gene before he closes his business and show our support; heres a challenge, lets everyone who has written a comment in support of Gene start calling the mayor and the council members, then show up at the next council meeting and demand the removal of chief Mcgraw, lets put our money where are mouths are and show the council, maybe even start our own “occupy movement”, but something needs to be done, getting on here and voicing our opinions is not going to get anything done we also need to be seen, so if you support gene I challenge you to act on your feelings.
If Gene is so Innocent why didn’t he have the DVD’s in a rack for everyone to buy and see? He knew what he was doing was wrong and against the law. Thank you Flomaton Police Dept for doing your job and answering a complaint.
code of alabama
no doubt that was written sometime way back in 1920 it’s time to make a change if flomaton is to turn around and not become a ghost town they need more business not less as i said earlier you need business to help pay taxes and create jobs and keep city operations going. thats the only thing bad i have to say about my homestate they want to remain a century behind the rest of the world kind of like our ex governor trying to shut down the casino’s why? they create huyndreds of jobs each and revenue for the state plus it gives us somewhere to go entertain ourselves now that i think about it this kind of reminds me of the old “FOOTLOOSE” movie
The Code of Alabama Section 13A-12-200.2
Distribution, possession with intent to distribute, production, etc., of obscene material prohibited;
Section 13A-12-200.3
Dissemination of obscene material;
Numbers 33:52
Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places:
REGARDING:
“This man did not break the law, he did not obey a statute. Huge difference! Laws are to protect life and liberty, statutes are to make your owners rich. Sad how American have allowed their “Public Servants” rule over them. All because you gave up your rights and allowed the owners to make you a 14th amendment citizen. Educate yourselves and you will be free once more.”
By educate yourself, you mean watch more videos, right?
Or maybe you can educate us. I don’t know whether cousin-in-law Gene broke any laws or not but your distinction between statutes and laws isn’t in my handy-dandy dictionary. Please expound.
[ Law: binding or enforceable rule: a rule of conduct or procedure recognized by a community as binding or enforceable by authority
Statute: law enacted by legislature: a law established by a legislative body per Encarta ]
Further, I’m not sure who my owners are so please expound on that too.
Nor do I understand how a 14th Amendment citizen differs from an ordinary citizen. Yes, I know I should be more educated than to have to ask, but I guess I ain’t, so please expound on that subject as well.
[ 14th Amendment
Section 1.
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. ]
David considering side issues
Glad I dont live in Flomaton, the drugs are rampant there and they are going after a man for pornography? Dont believe in Pornography but there are much more important things to be done in Flomaton…….
Gene, what’d you do? Give the chief a bad haircut? Maybe they were just jealous of your luck in the casino and thought you’d offer to share.
We’ve always had a feeling the local cops of our little country towns shied away from danger. Well, now we know what they actually do do to make themselves feel brave. I can just see their little chests pumping out and up with self worth.
well quick draw McGraw….I guess you were going for the bust of the year..I’m wondering how long it took you to get this plan together to get this hardened criminal off the street….don’t you have real criminals to chase? Gene is a good man….don’t you think it would have been better in your investigation..how long did you investigate? Oh yeah…it was ten minutes..If Gene did what he was charged with and that has holes in…why couldn’t you have just went by the shop or called him to come in to talk to you? He would have…but Quick Draw McGraw….you did what you do best…you saw a photo opt and a look at me moment….how about that!
This man did not deserve to be plastered on the net news and I’m sure when the paper comes out, he will no doubt be plastered all over it as well. I hear there are some real criminals running around Flomaton…why don’t you chase them down?
sounds like another downfall for flomaton, ive been going to gene for haircuts for 5 years now and i agree with all the good folks above . I have witnessed gene help so many people out while i was in there and youi wont find a better person. it sounds like the people of flomaton need to go register to vote and get this mgraw clown out of office as well as the mayor. i was raised up in this area from jay to atmore and when i started to using gene for haircuts it was the first time i had been to flomaton in a while i was surprised at the number of closed down businesses there as opposed to when i was growing up it is becoming a ghost town. the only new businesses i saw was mcdonalds and several new churches, don’t get me wrong i was raised up going to church every sunday and wednesday and i am a god fearing man but there seems to be a trend over there of letting only churches open up and denying other people licenses . the people of flomaton need to vote out every one of the town council as well as the mayor and replace them with someone who hasn’t held office before and dont have a brother in law who wants to open up a church so they can have non taxable income thats right for you folks that don’t know it churches don’t pay no taxes and that tax money the town is missing that it needs to operate is not going to come from a church. it comes from businesses and sounds like mgraw and co. is trying to shut down another business possibly to open another church. i mean come on people who does not have some type of porn in their household remember god made adam and eve naked. bottom line let gene go and dont charge him and print a retraction for smearing his good name he has done nothing wrong if it was child porn then yes but i really dont think that is the case this mgraw clown needs to be fired tarred and featherred and carried out of town limits as well as the mayor and city council that makes some of the stupidest decisions in their own favor instead of the towns favor. please dont carry then out of town toward atmore though.
@Cygie,
You said ” Last time I checked it was still a sin in the Bible.” Maybe I missed it. Can you please point out to me the place in the Bible that refers to the sin of viewing or selling pornographic DVDs? I somehow overlooked it.
I AM a Christian and I’m really not turned on by porn, but if someone else wishes to view it….that’s their prerogative. It is NOT mine to deny them that.
I don’t know Gene well but I have to say that the way this has been blasted all over the media is ridiculous. The man was selling DVDs…..I wonder, if he had sold them at a yard sale, would he still be going to jail?
The FPD is a joke and has been for years. Everybody knows this. Ok, so he didn’t have the proper permit. So why wasn’t he sent a letter informing him of this and giving him so many days to get one? Isn’t that the proper procedure with any other thing like this?
Mcgraw should do like Mcgruff and sniff out real crime.
If I’m reading this right, he was raided for not having the correct license. I have to have a certain license for a soda fountain. If I were running with my normal business license and didn’t get the fountain added to it, would I get raided and plastered all over the news?
This reeks of a police chief trying to look like a big dog. Major back fire in my opinion.
Ok let’s see what’s worse this, or the lady at Bp sellin alcohol to minors? Hmm I wonder, we all kno fpd is a joke jus wow smh
You can walk downtown Flomaton with your pants hanging below your butt for all the kids to see. You can buy, sell, and trade drugs on the street corner for all the kids to see. You can do lots of things to get busted seems like. This may be the biggest bust of the year and we just got started.
All you religious people need to realize that not everybody in this country is a Bible-thumper.. There has been more evil done in this world in the name of religion than I care to think about. This country was founded on separation of church & state. The issue is the legality of the situation…if it was a matter of permits & fines, it should have been handled more professionally & not make a mockery of a decent, kind man & make Flomaton look stupid on the news.. All you people putting down sex videos, I wonder how many violent movies & video games your kids own.
After Gene pays his 50 dollar fine he needs to move his shop outside the city limits and then he wont have to worry about the Keystone Cops. They are absolutely worhless. Flomaton keeps creeping the city jusidiction futher and futher out anyway. A town never needs more cops than traffic lights anyway!! If they was smart the city would apologize to Gene and get rid of Marshall Diilion and Festus!!
To: My people perish for a lack of knowledge. aka Pharisee
Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. You forgot the children and the law, and half the verse.
Let’s remember that it’s PORNOGRAPHY. Last time I checked it was still a sin in the Bible. So if you are going to play the God card, play the whole hand, not the part that suits you best.
This man did not break the law, he did not obey a statute. Huge difference! Laws are to protect life and liberty, statutes are to make your owners rich. Sad how American have allowed their “Public Servants” rule over them. All because you gave up your rights and allowed the owners to make you a 14th amendment citizen. Educate yourselves and you will be free once more.
My people perish for lack of knowledge.
I HAVE KNOWN GENE ALL MY LIFE. I HAVE LIVED DOWN TOWN ALL MY LIFE. THIS MAN GAVE ME AND EVERYBODY HE KNEW MONEY CLOTHES AND FOOD. EVERYBODY THAT KNOWS GENE NEEDS TO STAND BY HIM IN HIS TIME OF NEED.!!!!! AND EVERYBODY KNOWS HOW BAD OUR POLICE DEPT.IS! AND OUR CHIEF ROOTEN TOOTEN gee-off mcgraw! lol
IM WONDERING IF THE COUNCIL WOULD LET HIM BUY THE LISCENCE AND PROPER PERMITS? IF SO, GENE LET ME KNOW AND I WILL BUY WILL HELP THE GOOD OLE CITY OUT FOR SOME SORRY TAX FEE… SINCE YOU HAVE BEEN HERE WHEN I WAS IN THAT LITTLE BLACK BOOSTER SEAT I SAT IN GETTING MY HAIR CUT FROM YOU. WE NEED TO SPREAD THE WEALTH. YOU R A GREAT MAN GENE! U ALWAYS WILL BE……
“his business is next to a church”. I have known Gene for more than 20 years. I am a woman. I just don’t see Gene standing on the street corner by the church selling these. How did the PD know he was selling them? Did one of the officers get someone to go in and buy one? Gene has been an upstanding man with revenue going to Flomaton. Unless there is child porn involved leave the man alone!
Gene would help you with any problem without guestion..as I said before would give your loved ones last hair cut free..chief from brewton..would not move to flomaton as per contract with town…orders from brewton…mayor from chief….and laugh town coucil from mayor..
I feel bad for Mr Chancerys family! I wonder why the police don’t clean the drugs up off the streets instead of worrying about someone selling DVDs for $3! I wonder why the chief gets to drive a new gas hog SUV around and home to brewton!! And how a bother flomaton cop drives his car home to atmore??? This town is dying! Losing businesses are dying and I don’t understand how they can afford to build bridges to nowhere and buy new police cars! Invest a little time into the major drug players in the area and pursue them! Not a sixty year old gentleman that has never hurt anyone!!! Just saying
Me and my family have been friend with and gene and his for years and years, and gene has always had a kind word. Now I dont condone what he did, but he did not deserve to be treated like a drug-lord and have his shop raided. Chief Mcgraw could have been more discreet about how he handled this situation. If he recevied a complaint he could have went to gene and talked to him, gene would have been honest and admitted the truth, but no that is not Chief McGraw style, he wanted to make headlines for himself. Chief McGraw has already ran off or fired 8 good people, without any repocussions from the city council and mayor, so now he’s emboldened to go after the citizens, he knows the mayor wont do anything and the council is useless. I cant wait for Nov 12, 2012, with any luck the peopel will have had enough and vote everyone of them out. Come one folks rise up and end this stupidity.
Dang it, I bought a dog from him several years ago! Guess they will after him for that next.I see FPD is still doing what they do best…NOTHING!
Let’s face the facts, drugs are abundant in Flomaton. They know who is dealing and where they live. They do not address the drug problem, they go and make headlines by busting the barber. I am not buying this publicity stunt, the police department should concentrate on the drug problem and arrest the dealers in Flomaton. Do we really think this was such a major bust? Move to a big city and try and be a real officer and sweep under your own door first.
I have to wonder if the FPD takes all complaints as seriously, if so, how many more drug arrests would we see.
Business district of Flomaton, you would think they had conducted a major raid and netted large quantities of drugs. What business district, the town is dying due to a lack of management and leadership. Could we focus on the drug problem in Flomaton, they turn their heads the other way on the drug problem when they know who and where they are located. Did we need these headlines to make the public feel the P.D. was doing something? Focus on the drugs !!!!!!!!!!
My word, all the drug use, manufacturing, and distribution, and this is what the FPD runs a sting on, smh
I understand that he broke the law, but I have to sit here and wonder, it this was a “sting” based on a complaint, what about the complaints that are given to the FPD concerning drug manufacturing, distributing, use, etc. There are alot worse things going on in this town that need to be investigated, things that will actually cause folks to do violent things and wind up dead. I have to agree with some of the other posts, c’mon officers get out of the convenience stores, quite chasing the young girls and do something to actually protect us!
Gene wasn’t selling it for the money, if anybody really knows Gene. That’s just Gene, the same Gene we’ve known all our lives. For loving family man, who didn’t meet a stranger or turn his back on anybody. If you need a Dollar or Fifty Dollars he would give it to you. As far as the Porn being in his shop and him selling was is the big deal? He was selling it for $3.00 & buying it back for a $1.00 what is the big deal. It didn’t have children in it and he wasn’t on the street trying to sell it or flagging kids down trying to sell it to them. We have drug dealers,sex offenders,murders,robbers in our so called town and most everybody know who they are,the police department know who they are. Nothing is every done to those people, because their padding the police department’s pocket. They will tell on somebody else to keep themselves out of jail and I’m sure that’s what happened to Gene. Some of these people I’m talking about did this to Gene to keep themselves out of jail. The police can’t get out and do their job their being paid for they need somebody else to do it for them. If they would get all this trash off the streets Flomaton would be a better town. I could go on & on but I want , I just wanted Gene to know I have his back
there was one time i had no furnreture gene gave me all kinds off stuff to help me out then when i didnt have 5 dollars to get my 2 year old grandson hair cut he done it any way then once i needed gas to take my baby to doctor he helped this is a caring man
Let’s have a vote. Who would you want to keep in Flomaton? Gene, who has cut hair and supported the area since the early 70’s, or this Mcgraw guy who blew in from who knows where?
Ive known Gene for over 25 years and I cant tell you how many times I have seen him personally help people out in this town just outta of pure kindness.For Vickie, to say he is a bad man because he broke the law only makes you a ignorant. Justice is blind for im sure you have exceeded the speed limit or done something to break the law in the past and didnt get caught,heck probably everybody walking earth has so please dont comment any further unless you have something logical to say.Bottom line folks the town of Flomaton is ran by a corrupt council,a corrupt mayor, and a corrupt chief, who is only out for their intrest. Bottom line cut the head of the snake and the rest will follow. NEW MAYOR,NEW COUNCIL,NEW CHEIF=NEW FLOMATON!
The A Friend person pretty much said he gave him money.
F.P.D didn’t do it mr.g did it so crime
Mean tiime like the drugs boys.
Point blank period, the guy insisted on giving the money.
IF Gene gave the videos away and didn’t charge money where did the $3.00 come from in the story?
Biggest bunch baloney…they just wanted a cut..who cares?? Gene, charge $3.50 & give The Poor ole city of Flomaton 50 cents.
First off i know that the story isn’t right. Gene didn’t sell those videos, he had bought a bunch of movies from a movie store when it was going out of business and (BTW, he always was giving stuff to people like hats, book, or whatever he had in his store!) He just had thrm sitting somewhere and someguy had asked if he had any videos and and he said yeah there over there go help yourself, he GAVE them to him and the guy insited on giving him $5. Therefore he didn’t really sale nothing! The guy made him take the money!
Everyone knows Gene in flomaton, would you seriously think a guy a kind hearted as him is a terrible person, plus even if you thought because he had porn makes him a bad person, you need to look around, about 74% of people haveseen or bought porn before. Does that make them awful? Why don’t the new focus on drugs, gangs, and awful stuff like that? I believe it would make our town of flomaton a better place if thats what was focused on that. Don’t you?
Thank you for the time kn reading this.
Have a good day!
Really im not believeing what all you innocent people are saying about this Innocent Man! Apparently you dont know who your SO CALLED POLICE OFFICER REALLY ARE. I Cant even count on my fingers and toes how many time A Flomaton Officer, has took contraband in the county jails of Brewton Ala. In stead of worrying about what Mr. Gene has done. Thats petty stuff if you ask me. You need to investagatesome of your officers before you go after some one as innocent as this man is. God knows this man has not committed a serious crime. Contraband is much more worse off than what Mr. Gene was doing. Its not something he was advertising in his shop. You really dont know this man as good as you think you do. Like i said your Police Dept. Needs to sweep around its on doors before you go pointing your fingers at Mr. Gene. Most of you in the town of Flomaton that is bashing, Mr. Gene is probably the ones that bought the tapes from him.. Maybe the Mayor really dont know his officers like he thinks..
If he was trying to make ends meet, he could have gone and gotten a prt time job at walmart, winn dixie, McDonalds…etc etc etc
Calm down everyone!! The only law he broke (as long as none of the tapes involved children) was that he didn’t have the required license and permit. And with all the publicity he’s getting now, it might pay him to get the license and permit and do it the legal way!!
A complaint was filed with the police dept., so they had to follow up and do their job.
Oh, I see now………….the PD is going to REVIEW them!!!!!!!!
Techinically running a redlight or stop sign is breaking the law! It’s Gene. Surely Flomaton isn’t so boring that they have to pick on Gene. This man would give you the shirt off his back if he thought you needed it. He’s just trying to make ends meet. The family has been through a lot lately and this is not what they need right now. I’m quite sure this could have been handled differently instead of making it look like he was renting out rooms in the back. I mean have you turned on the TV lately? There are shows with titles that would have been xrated when I was a kid! Who really cares about a $3 dvd and how is it any different than going right down the road and buying a magazine from the gas station other than the city didn’t get their fees off of it. Hoping the people responsible for this are really looking out for the people they serve and not just trying to make a name for themselves.
Wow! It’s amazing to see just how many people are oblivious to the fact that this man has violated the law and how “good” he is isn’t an issue here! In fact there are a lot of “good” people locked up in jail & prison right now, some who committed crimes in order to support their families so what makes him any different from them?
Does anyone understand that this man broke the law?
Maybe if we did elect Gene as Mayor, he would be smart enough to appoint a new Chief. I see rapest who are suppose to be home at 10:00 PM in town 3 hours after curfew and nothing is done to them, but let a man have a few porn videos and it’s front page/top story news!! Come on Barney…spend more time on the real criminals!!
Okay ,I just re-read the article and all the comments , and I see the real problem. The town , county and state governments weren’t getting their portion of the 3 dollars he collected for rental or their portion of the 1 dollar buy back , no fees from the permit he didn’t buy and no fee from the liscense. THAT’S where the problem comes from ! geez…
What Fairlane63 said.
Let’s legislate MORE religious morality.
I also like and second the comment about Direct TV and Cable. If big corporations do it, it’s okay, but let a local man try to offer something that Walmart doesn’t and… Oh well. It’s okay to sell or rent “The Chainsaw Massacre” video but…not people making love. Go figure.
If you have lived here for any length of time you probly know Gene. I have for over 30 years. He is a good man and Raised a good family. Why would FPD waste time looking into this. I understand if there were possibly kids involved..I don’t think that was an issue. If they spent half of there time focusing on real crime instead of harrasing petty problems I would be impressed.
Porn is bad. It should be outlawed. It destroys families and is a cancer on society. You either use and abuse others or you don’t. If you watch porn, you are an user and abuser. ’nuff said.
Really people you are over looking the fact that he was selling porn which is illegal! I for one do not like our new chief….but as officers of the law they had to investigate how was anyone to know there was not children involved? There are laws for a reason and as for Direct TV, AT&T etc…they have license that protect them, they can sell porn legally just like certain video stores. IF he was really that interested in selling it all he had to do was go through the proper steps in obtaining a license to sell and this would not have happened. If there were no laws against porn there would be an over abundance of Child porn and other unwanted images out there. The laws are to protect innocent children from the many sick people that are in our world today.
I don’t think the Flomaton police dept needs to be the ones to review the material. IF they suspect child porn, a social worker needs to the one to review it ALONE. IF they think it needs to be reported as child porn, then call the chief in…the police DEPT doesn’t have any reson to review it. The make it sound as though the whole dept will be watching…will there be popcorn there? IF child porn is there, by all means lock him up…he should have reviewed the taped before he sold them.
He’d buy the video back after someone was “done” with it? EWWWW!!!!!
I have known Gene for a long time also.Knowing someone does not mean they won’t change over the years or become someone who does things you can’t beleive.Porn is as addicting as crack,it will ruin your life,maybe not as fast as crack but it will bring you to ruin.It degrades women,it ruins marriages.Once a man is addicted to it he begins to live in a make beleive world where real relationships with women are impossible.You think it is just fun and pictures?think again.No one is immune to it.Statistics show 23 % of pastors in the nation are addicted to it.Do they want to stop? Most of them do ,but find themselves in the clutches of a horrible addiction.We would see a lot more of the harmful affects of this but it is a silent killer.No one wants to face up and aknoledgr their addiction.Way to go FPD.Keep up the good work.! guys,you think it is just fun? I dare you..try to stop.
I figured they all stayed too busy at the clerks office changing out ttickets they knew they had wrong and serving atmore warrants on sundays without escorts to do anything this substantial for the town. Shocker! Check them tickts ppl! They jus wontt money!
I cannot believe how many people on here have bad mouthed the police and not this barber, you guys must have been the customer.
Porn will hurt your marriage. Porn will hurt your relationship with other people. Porn will hurt your relationship with God.
I used to watch that stuff years ago and after repenting to Jesus Christ he forgave me of those things, but the images are still in my head and it grieves the Holy Spirit when I remember them.
I am glad this barber got busted. I pray he learns his lesson before put back on the street to sell more of this trash.
Trust me folks, you might get your thrill with it now, but you’ll pay for it later. Turn from it please, I beg you.
God bless!
” the Flomaton Police Department would review the contents of each video.”
They should keep the police on the streets and outsource that job. I happen to have some experience screening porn.
Lawd my hard drive would get me life
siezed 16 videos, thatll keep ole andy and barney busy for a while haha, at least till high school gets out for the day….
watch out folks, next they’ll be locking up those mischevious jay walkers lol
Finally they got they great porn bandit! Or did they? hey I just looked up some porn on the internet, and it was free!! oh know, i hear em comin yall, i got to go!!!!
Really??? Good job FPD!!! Who made the bust? Andy or Barny? Did Barny use his 1 bullet? The streets R sooo much safer now.
The way everyone is lifting Mr. Chancery up, we might as well elect him for Mayor. ROLL TIDE!! 21-0
My family has known this man for decades! He’d take the shirt off his back for anyone! His family has been through a LOT! Leave the man alone! I can’t imagine how much of our tax dollars were spent for this “sting operation”! REALLY? I’m sure something a little less drastic could have been done! As for his place looking “creepy”…Just because someone doesn’t have the money to add all the bells & whistles to his shop, doesn’t make him creepy! Was it wrong? Yes! Was he breaking the law? Yes…BUT how many times has the “law” overlooked drug use in this town & county because they knew the person using? Just a thought!
Its the one stop shop why stop that, i can call 10 dealers to get dope but didnt know i could get porn so cheap i put down the dope porn here i come, good luck gene they have nothing better to do besides sit around and talk to young girls livin there porn lives out no need for a movie i have a badge
Have to say I’m dissapointed in You Gene , You’ve cut my hair for years , and not even once have You offered to sell me any Porn! Come to think of it , You never even mentioned You had it available.
Are you going to arrest the cable man? The DirecTV man? The AT&T man? How is this any different than the porn that’s available in Flomaton on DirecTV, cable TV, or the internet?
I feel so much safer now…
Watch out folks, Barney Fife is the new law in town. U-turns will be next.
Bottom line, leave Jean alone!
I think the point is that the law requires a different license to sell pornography. Just like a bar or any other business that most people consider “shady,” these sorts of establishments have different regulations. Not to mention the voters of Flomaton would need to approve also.
I’m ALL for less government involvement, but the law is the law. There are proper ways to do things.
And on an irrelevant side note, I’ve never been in there, nor have I taken my 4 young boys there for a haircut…because the place just looks creepy.
” the Flomaton Police Department would review the contents of each video.”
It’s a tough job butt somebody has to do it.
Ok….number one this is a Barber Shop! Number two who goes to the Barber Shop? Men! What do Men love?? Women! So of course the subject is gonna get brought up. If he wasn’t displaying it for everyone to see, but the ones who knew knew what does it matter???? Like everyone else has said the man was just trying to make a living!! Why expose him like that anyway? Thats the problem if everyone would mind their own business and not worry so much about what the other person is doing if its not a big deal. What about the other crimes going on in the world…and you worried about porn??? You may be a S_x addict but I’ve never heard of anyone dying from it!! Let the small things be…I think everyone should just show him your support!! And Flomaton get ReaLLL!!!!
Oh please not saying all is bad but really if some of our elected officials were looked into they do worse than this man. Get a ticket build head honcho a barn he will make it disappear. Its not about what u do anymore its about who u know.
“He said that none of the videos were believed to involve child pornography, but he said the Flomaton Police Department would review the contents of each video.”
Looks like a good way for the officers to get there porn for free! LOL.
OMG maybe this is why they can not find the time to contact me back for some stolen propery Im missing, where someone broke in my home and TOOK IT my childrens stuff to be exact.. A uc must have passed that tidbit along, but the times I have took my children in there I have never seen anything to lead to adult movies,, he has given his time many times to the town.. and out of the good ness of his heart. I agree with the above statements , do your real job and get the Drug dealers off the street or are we scared? unbelievable.. and really take the time on the clock to review the tapes that should be passed over to IA or something do you really have the staff or time to sit and watch PORN in our TOWN Hall where females work at that? Im sure you hate that part… get on the streets an away from the parks and tom thumbs, smh..one more thing I am not for porn but I am sure Gene is not the only person selling porn and 3 dollars really? that doesnt even buy the DVD
This “crack smoker” needs a sign! He puts his name and suggests that he can provide names? Here’s your sign!
If the PD were doing their jobs then dope wouldnt be being sold in trailer park or right by the highschool
Who cares? The guy was old, and obviously needed the money. Porn (whether you like it or not) is a legitimate business.
Anyways I grew up in the area, and I’ve been smoking crack since I was 14 years old, and I convieniently waited outside of his store to meet my dealers by those train tracks. Maybe if you want to solve some real crime you will do something about all the drug dealers in Flomaton. I don’t personally know their addresses, but I can get them for you.
COPS ARE A JOKE!!!! stop watching porn and do something good for the community, or just quit your job because you’re serving no purpose anyways.
THIS IS JUST RIDICULOUS, MY GOD, FIND SOME REAL CRIMINALS! GENE HAS CUT MY LITTLE BOYS HAIR FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS NEVER ASKING FOR PAYMENT, ALWAYS GIVING US STUFF FOR FREE, LEAVE THE MAN ALONE, HE’S JUST ENJOYING HIS RETIREMENT!!!! JUST PURE RIDICULOUS! !!
It’s probably not a bad idea to set up a Bada Bing place in Flomaton to generate some tax revenue. Before it turns in to Repton or Pollard.
Gene’s just trying to make a living like everybody else. Leave him alone. By the way, just how long will you officers be reviewing that evidence?
I agree with above, GREAT JOB FLOMATON PD!!!! CAN’T DO ANYTHING ABOUT ABUSIVE BOYFRIENDS/HUSBANDS, DRUG DEALERS, METH COOKS OR ANY COMBINATION OF THE THREE!?!?!?!?!?!?! BUT BY ALL MEANS BUST THE LOCAL BARBER!!!!! GOOD ONE!
He’s a good guy, and I doubt any of it was child porn. Meh, leave him alone I say.
good job flomaton…now how about you take out the drug dealers..i’m so sure he was selling to minors…gotta be kidding me