Inmate charged after threatening to kill Ala. judge, torch his home

Samuel Blake English IV now faces a terroristic threat charge in Morgan County after allegedly threatening a judge following a video court appearance

May 03, 2025 06:00 AM

By Eric Fleischauer
The Decatur Daily, Ala.

DECATUR, Ala. — A jail inmate threatened to shoot a Morgan County judge in the head and burn his house down on Thursday and now, in addition to prior charges, faces a charge of making a terroristic threat and must secure a $600,000 bond to get out of jail, according to the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office.

Samuel Blake English IV, 25, of Collins Hill Road in Somerville, was in jail for allegedly failing to register as a sex offender. He was in a hearing with Morgan County Circuit Judge Charles Elliott via video link from the jail and began cussing at Elliott, according to an investigator’s affidavit, which said Elliott asked him to stop cussing but the inmate continued.

“At this time, Judge Elliott asked for English to be removed from video court and (a sergeant) escorted English back to his housing unit,” according to the affidavit.

“While heading back to the housing unit English told (the sergeant) he was going to shoot Judge Elliott and burn his house down.”

The investigator then met with English in an interview room and read him his Miranda rights. He initially refused to speak, but then “verbally stated and caught on audio and video recording he would shoot the Judge in the head with a 9 mm pistol,” according to the affidavit.

Morgan County Circuit Judge Jennifer Howell set the $600,000 bond for the terroristic threat charge, with the additional conditions that if released he must wear a GPS monitor and have “no contact with any Morgan County judge.”

According to court records, English was convicted of a sex offense as a juvenile, which triggers a requirement that he register with the Sheriff’s Office annually for 10 years in the month of his birth, which is March. He has been charged twice with violating the registration requirement, most recently on April 9 , when he was still on probation for failing to register the previous year. He was arrested and booked into the jail on April 19 . At that time, according to court records, his bond was set at $2,500.

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