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MARSHALL COUNTY, Ala. – WHNT continues to discover more about Otis Mayes, the man accused of killing two elderly women Tuesday morning in the Five Points neighborhood of Huntsville.

For the last several years, Mayes has lived all over the Sand Mountain area, and in Arab in particular, he’s racked up quite the criminal record.

“He was well-known with our officers,” says Shane Washburn, the Assistant Police Chief in Arab.

Despite being a frequent guest in the Arab Police holding cell, Washburn says he was shocked to hear the news about the double homicide in Five Points.

“He just seemed to be one of those individuals who always seemed to get into some type of mischief or always be on the other side of the law, but nothing of great extent,” says Washburn.

The Assistant Police Chief says Mayes was always friendly with Arab officers – known more as a troublemaker than a hard criminal.

“Usually it would be some sort of alcohol related crime, whether it would be public intoxication or DUI, things of that nature, but we all knew Otis,” he says.

Since 2010, Mayes has been charged with nine crimes, stemming from arrests involving three different law enforcement agencies.

  • 2010 – Mayes faced two counts of theft in Arab.
  • 2011 – He was arrested on two different occasions for forgery in Marshall County.
  • 2013 – Mayes pleads guilty to reckless driving, violating the open-container law, and lacking proof of insurance in Madison County.
  • 2016 – He pleads guilty to escape in the second degree and theft of property from the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office.

Washburn points out, all of those are generally non-violent in nature.

“Most of the time when we deal with someone, you kind of see a build up of different crimes. They get more aggressive as time progresses, but like I said in this case, we hadn’t had any indications or anything,” he says.

Court documents indicate Mayes has moved a lot over the last few years. Each arrest record shows a different address associated with the 27-year-old.

Much like the Five Points neighborhood, Washburn says he’s eager to learn more about this case, because it doesn’t fit the man he first met several years ago.

“All of us were about the same, we were just shocked that this type of crime is what Otis was involved with,” says Washburn.

Otis Mayes now faces two counts of capital murder in the deaths of Mary Blevins and Nancy Young. Huntsville Police say the investigation is still ongoing.