Carol Robinson
Alabama Media Group, Birmingham
ASHLAND, Ala. — A state prison inmate on work release was killed Sunday in a reported industrial accident at a poultry plant.
Alabama Department of Corrections officials identified the victim as Frank Dwayne Ellington. He was 33 and previously had lived in Birmingham and Alex City.
The accident happened about 5:30 p.m. at Koch Foods poultry plant in Ashland. As a work release inmate, Ellington was assigned to the Clay County job site. Authorities said Ellington had worked at the plant since June.
Ellington was serving a life sentence for third-degree robbery out of Jefferson County. He was initially charged with first-degree robbery in 2008 for stealing a man’s wallet at gunpoint in Ensley, court records said. He pleaded guilty in 2009 to third-degree robbery and, under the state’s Habitual Offender Act, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
He had a previous conviction for first-degree robbery in which he was sentenced to 20 years in prison with one year to serve, and a first-degree theft of property for which he was sentenced to three years in prison.
The cause of the accident remains under investigation.
©2017 Alabama Media Group, Birmingham