The Fountain Lanes Murder

 

The Crime:

Bowling has always been considered a blue collar sport, but when Fountain Lanes was built in the late 1950s on the recently opened Florence Boulevard, it sought a new type of clientele. These new lanes were to attract young families, upscale professionals, and even Girl Scouts earning merit badges. Yet it didn't take long for the sports venue to show a much darker side.

It was the second day of the new year 1962 when Travis L. Pounders and a friend decided to visit the bowling alley. Pounders was married, the owner of a new home on Tune Avenue, and the chief traffic clerk at Southern Railway in Sheffield. In short, the 33 year-old Pounders appeared to be an upstanding citizen.

While Pounders and his companion bowled, four Florence youths ranging in age from 18 to 23 entered the alley. Lauderdale prosecutors later referred to the Weeden Heights boys as "thugs" and "hoods." 

At some point during that Tuesday evening, Pounders and his friend retired to the men's room where they were alleged to have been drinking alcohol from paper cups. It was in the restroom that 23 year-old Jerry Rogers heard Pounders make a derogatory remark about his leather jacket. Rogers later told his friends that the older men had threatened to "whip him," but this was never substantiated.

Shortly after the restroom incident, both groups left Fountain Lanes only seconds apart. It was then that Rogers decided to confront the two older men, hitting Pounders in the mouth and knocking him against Carver May. The 20 year-old May then struck Pounders on the head, but the victim seemed unfazed and lunged at Rogers. At that point, Rogers produced a large pocket knife and fatally stabbed Pounders in the heart, nicking the left lung. All four of the Weeden Heights youths fled the scene.

Fountain Lanes management placed a call to authorities at 10:16. A nearby ambulance transported Pounders to the ECM emergency department where he was pronounced dead shortly before 10:30 p.m. The Florence Police Department then initiated a search for the four young men.

The Aftermath:

It took only hours to arrest the four Weeden Heights youths; all were charged two days later with First Degree Murder (now Capital Murder) and faced a possible death penalty. Ultimately charges against two of the young men (names intentionally omitted) were dramatically reduced.

Only Jerry Rogers and Carver May were convicted of Manslaughter. May contended the blow he delivered to the back of Travis Pounders' head was inconsequential. His defense attempted to prove the bruise on the back of the victim's head could have been caused by his final fall to the pavement after being stabbed. Carver May was convicted and sentenced to six years in the state prison system.

The case against Jerry Rogers was much more complex. At 23, he was the oldest of the group. Unemployed, he had a reputation of liking to "cut" people. While Rogers had attempted to destroy the murder weapon, detectives found him in possession of a second knife covered in opossum's blood; seemingly Jerry was a threat to more than humans. In the past five years, he had been arrested twice for knife assault, but never served any substantial time. Jerry Rogers was sentenced to 90 years behind bars.

Sixty years later, do patrons of Fountain Lanes (now called Lauderdale Lanes) realize they step atop the scene of a murder each time they enter or depart the establishment? Perhaps in today's society, it's more of a question of do they even care.