2007 Birmingham homicides

This is a List of Birmingham homicides in 2007. It includes homicide cases occuring within the city limits during the calendar year. Note that a "homicide" refers to the cause of death as determined by a medical examiner, not to the commission of the crime of murder as charged by police and prosecutors.

With 92 homicides up to December 30, the city is on pace for 92 in 2007. If that trend were to hold true, the homicide rate for the city of Birmingham, based on the 2006 census estimate of 229,424 population, would be 40.0 homicides per 100,000 population for the year. Birmingham had 109 homicides in 2006, 105 in 2005, and a record of 135 in 1994. As of December 21, 2006 the number of homicides for that year was 107.

Birmingham is averaging 7.7 homicides per month, or one every 4.0 days. There were 14 homicides in July, 13 in November, 11 in October, 10 in September, 8 each in January and June, 6 in May and August, and 4 each in February, March, and April. The longest stretch without a homicide was between February 26 and March 22. The 16 slayings in the first quarter of 2007 represented a 36% reduction from the 1st quarter of 2006. (Robinson - May 1)

Of the 92 recorded homicides, suspects have been reported identified in at least 44 cases, apprehended in 34, and charged in 26. One case was a murder-suicide. Two incidents were police shootings, both of which remain under investigation.

Listing by date

1. January 1: Wyteria Rogers, 20, found shot in car on 200 block of 93rd Street North (map). Gregory Johnson, 20, charged with murder. [1]
2. January 1: Lavaughn Fortune, 34, victim of drive-by shooting at King City Food Mart at Warrior Road and Avenue P in Ensley (map). No arrest. [2]
3. January 11: Michael Elmore, 33, stabbed at his apartment at 2341 8th Street Northwest ( Sun Valley Apartments) (map) after an altercation. Neighbor Nathaniel Gordon, 44, was taken into custody at the scene and later charged with murder. [3]
4. January 19: Alberto Jackson, 39, shot by police during a confrontation on the 4100 block of 5th Court North in the Tom Brown Housing Community (map). He was taken to UAB Hospital and pronounced dead on the operating table. The Alabama Bureau of Investigation is reviewing the incident and the officer involved was placed on administrative leave. [4]
5. January 20: Unidentified shooting victim found in burning car at Appalachee Street and 11th Avenue North (map). Artago Wilson, 26, of Ensley has been arrested and charged with murder. [5]
6. January 24: Deston Lyons, 24, found in back yard of apartment building at 609 8th Street West (map). No arrest. [6]
7. January 26: Aubrey Graham, 42, shot on 4600 block of Carver Avenue in Hillman Park (map). Suspect arrested, but not yet charged. [7]
8. January 31: Patrick Grayson, 37, found shot on 2900 block of S. J. Bennett Drive in Wenonah (map). No arrest. [8]
9. February 6: Wendell Ray Austin, 44, found in back yard on 2700 block of 29th Place Ensley in the Fairview neighborhood (map). Travis Griffin, 18, was arrested and charged with murder. [9]
10. February 8: Donald Brookins, 25, shot in a mid-day gunfight at 2218 Avenue I Ensley. (map). Morris Thomas, 21, has been charged with murder and remains at large. [10]
11. February 9: Ronald Smith, Jr, 19, shot at 2948 Gallant Drive in Apple Valley (map) . Kevin DeWayne Lane was taken into custody and charged with capital murder. [11]
12. February 26: Joseph Van McGhee, 26, confined to a wheelchair after a previous gunshot wound, was hit by a shot intended for his cousin while visiting his cousin's home on the 400 block of Princeton Avenue (map). McGhee was pronounced dead at UAB Hospital. [12]
13. March 22: Bryant Mason, 19, shot on the front porch of 7418 1st Avenue South in Eastlake (map). Mason later died at UAB Hospital. No arrest. [13]
14. March 27: Martin Speights, 46, shot in car, found after crashing into utility pole at a parking lot on the 1200 block of Bankhead Highway in Thomas. (map). [14]
15. March 27: Canoard Norris, 21, shot in car in parking lot of Triple T's Food Store at 2517 Bush Boulevard in Ensley (map). No arrest. [15]
16. March 30: Darryontae Plummer, 22, shot at 86th Place North and 86th Way in Zion City (map). Another man was injured in the same shooting. Brandon Varner, 21 and Roy Seals, 20, have been arrested in connection with the incident. [16]
17. April 7: Brandon Reid, 18, shot on 800 block of Graymont Avenue (map). He was taken to UAB Hospital where he later died. [17]
18. April 6: William G. Bishop, 56, died from blunt force trauma after fighting with William James Johnson, 59 in a wooded area at 8th Avenue North and Carraway Boulevard (map). Both men were homeless. Johnson has been arrested and charged with murder. [18]
19. April 12: Thomas Jesse Smith, 51, shot in his car at 21st Street North and 31st Avenue North, then crashed at 31st and 20th Street North (map). He was pronounced dead at Physicians Medical Center Carraway. [19]
20. April 25: Calvin Square, 32, shot in chest after an altercation with another male in the parking lot of an apartment complex on the 2000 block of Avenue J in the Tuxedo community of Ensley (map). The victim was transported to UAB Hospital where he died. The suspect surrendered to police at the scene. [20]
21. May 9: Annie Ruth Gullion Lewis, 52, found in badly decomposed state alongside railroad track in a wooded area near the 3200 block of 2nd Avenue North (map). Though the cause has not yet been determined, her death is being investigated as a homicide. [21]
22. May 20: John Langer Malone, 25, found dead on the porch of a home at 1869 St Charles Court in west Birmingham (map). [22]
23. May 25: Amanda Bryant, a 21-year-old transient, found dead at 36th Avenue West and 32nd Court West from a gunshot to the upper body. No arrests have been made. Governor Bob Riley has offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to a conviction in the case. [23]
24. May 26: Mikylah Mays, 3 months old, found unresponsive at home at 6725 1st Avenue South and later pronounced dead at Children's Hospital (map). The infant's parents, Michael Mays, 23, and Joycelyn Smitherman, 22, were arrested on suspicion of murder, but later released when the District Attorney declined to charge them for lack of evidence. [24]
25. May 30: William DeAngelo Perry, 20, found shot on steps in front of his apartment building at 8009 1st Avenue South (map). Cortney Chancellor, 21, was arrested and charged with murder on June 5. [25]
26. May 31: Keith Brown, 38, found shot on the 200 block of Oporto-Madrid Boulevard (map). He died on June 1 at UAB Hospital. [26]
27. June 2: Mark Andrew, 38, stabbed outside The Station, 2025 Morris Avenue (map). Another man was wounded in the altercation. [27]
28. June 4: Sanchez Quiroz Barbarino, 29, of Arizona was found dead in the back seat of a 2000 Nissan Maxima on the 100 block of Lexington Street in Wylam (map). [28]
29. June 5: Alfonzo Turner, 21, shot during a struggle with a Birmingham City Schools security officer at Hayes High School, 505 43rd Street North (map). A grand jury declined to indict the guard on criminal charges. [29]
30. June 6: David Burrell, 19, found shot to death at 4819 Court V in Ensley (map). Ronley Ashley, Jr, has been charged with capital murder. [30]
31. June 12: Nelson Rice, 27, shot in the parking lot of the Uptown Apartments on the 1500 block of 19th Street North (Druid Hills) after an argument inside one of the units. (map). Luran Harrell was charged and arrested on a bus in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. [31]
32. June 12: Corey Kermaine Smith, 21, was shot just east of Village Creek near the intersection of 23rd Street Southwest and Fulton Avenue Southwest (map). The shooting followed an altercation with another man. Governor Bob Riley has offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to a conviction in the case. [32]
33. June 17: Steven Smith, 45, was shot at 4233 3rd Avenue South in Avondale (map). Leonard Dinson, 54, was arrested at the scene and charged with murder. [33]
34. June 29: Raymond May, 47, shot on the 200 block of Bolin Street in South Titusville near Elmwood Cemetery (map). [34]
35. July 1: Lucille Marie "Greta" Carter, 44, a prostitute, was found shot and dumped on the 100 block of Finley Avenue with a bag over her head (map). Bruce D. Mendenhall of Albion, Illinois, a trucker and suspected serial killer was arrested on July 12 in Nashville, Tennessee. His statement implicated him in at least six murders and he has been charged in Carter's death based on witness descriptions of his truck. [35]
36. July 4: Renard Davidson, 19, found shot inside 553 41st Place North in North Avondale (map). No arrest. [36]
37. July 4: Cornelius Hudson, 21, shot on the 8600 block of 2nd Avenue North (map). Patrick Scott Higgins, 24, has been charged with capital murder. [37]
38. July 7: Latorya Johnson, 23 and pregnant, was shot inside her apartment at 1785 Pearson Avenue Southwest. Her boyfriend, David Lockett has been charged with capital murder. [38]
39. July 15: Eddie Lee Jackson, 42, found dead in a pick-up truck that crashed into a house at 912 3rd Street Pratt in Pratt City immediately after gunshots were heard in the vicinity (map). No arrest. [39]
40. July 15: Janet Frame, 37, found dead in a pick-up truck that crashed into a house at 912 3rd Street Pratt in Pratt City immediately after gunshots were heard in the vicinity (map). No arrest. [40]
41. July 16: Abdo Kasim Musa, 28, a clerk at Matt's Market at 3220 17th Avenue North (map), was shot to death as he closed the store around 11:00 PM. No arrest. The owner of the store is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. [41]
42. July 17: Skeletal remains of an unidentified male found in a shallow grave off 27th Avenue North near the CSX Railroad tracks. A homeless woman was arrested for hindering prosecution in connection with the case, which was ruled a homicide based on autopsy results. [42]
43. July 18: Sylvester Cobb, 31, shot in front of his home on the 1400 block of Eufaula Avenue in Bush Hills (map). No arrest. [43]
44. July 20: Eulin Matthews, 19, shot near the intersection of 6th Avenue North and 16th Street North downtown (map). A suspect has been identified, with an arrest warrant pending. [44]
45. July 20: William Robert Ross, 42, found at 3601 36th Avenue North (map). He was taken to UAB Hospital where he was pronounced dead. [45]
46. July 21: Martaveous Wilson, 24, shot inside house at 845 42nd Place North (map). Charles Knight, 31, is charged with capital murder. He is being held without bond in the Jefferson County Jail. [46]
47. July 22: Larry Whitson, 50, found dead in his apartment on Tuscaloosa Avenue (map). [47]
48. July 25: Derrick Williams, 29, found shot to death inside his burning house at 225 Newark Circle (map). No arrest. [48]
49. August 8: Timmy Ray Brown, 29, shot in a car at 2nd Avenue South and Oporto-Madrid Boulevard (map). No arrest. [49]
50. August 13: Christopher Ogletree, 47 was shot by police during a confrontation in his yard at 1053 40th Street Ensley (map). Witnesses say Ogletree has spent several days in the yard before police were summoned. The officer called for backup and was attacked with a knife before he fired the single shot that killed Ogletree. BPD's internal affairs division and the Alabama Bureau of Investigation are investigating the incident. [50]
51. August 19: Ronald Lewis, 20-something, shot in the alley behind the 1200 block of 20th Street South near Highland Avenue (map). [51]
52. August 20: Walker Yow, 63, shot in the abdomen during a robbery on the 8900 block of Parkway East in Roebuck (map). He died at UAB Hospital that evening. Two suspects are sought. [52]
53. August 23: Donnie Ashford, 55, shot outside his flatbed tow truck at Avenue Z and 29th Street Ensley. Deveragray Miller has been arrested and charged with capital murder. Because he is a minor, he would not be eligible for a death sentence if convicted. Charges against an accomplice are pending. [53]
54. September 5: Clyde Patrick, 44, died shortly after being shot by Birmingham Police using an electric stun gun at 19th Street and 5th Avenue South on August 2. The death was classified by the Jefferson County Coroner as a homicide on September 5 and turned over to the District Attorney. [54]
55. September 7: Damion Arterrius Butler, 23, found shot in a car parked at Inglenook Park on the 4000 block of 37th Avenue North. [55]
56. September 7: Edmund Anthony Frison, 23, found shot in a car parked at Inglenook Park on the 4000 block of 37th Avenue North. [56]
57. September 8: Larry Coleman, 58, found shot on the 5800 block of Martin Luther Avenue in West Birmingham. No arrest. [57]
58. September 9: Charles Lawrence, 21, found in a car in a wooded area near Slayden Avenue in Sherman Heights. Dedric Mullins, 16, was charged with capital murder and turned himself in. [58]
59. September 7: Julio Colon, 30, found in an abandoned building on the 2600 block of 31st Avenue North. [59]
60. September 19: Tyrone Sanders, found shot on 300 block of 12th Street Southwest. A suspect was found wounded nearby. [60]
62. September 23: Robert Pleasant, 58, found dead in home on 2400 block of 29th Street West in Ensley. A 23-year-old suspect was taken into custody, but has not yet been charged. [61]
63. September 30: Michael William Bamberg, 65, was found beaten with his throat cut at his home at 1300 Impala Drive in the Spring Lake neighborhood of Huffman (map). Jabari Leon Bascomb has been arrested and charged with capital murder. [62]
64. October 8: Kayla Nicole Fanaei, a student at UAB, found shot to death in her car in the Glen Iris Elementary School parking lot on the 1100 block of 11th Street South (map). The victim's family posted a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Alfred Jerrell Marina, Maurice McCarty and Gregory Hill have been arrested and charged with capital murder. [63]
65. October 11: Dexter White, 51, found on the side of the road on the 5300 block of Park Avenue Southwest between Wenonah and Lipscomb (map).
66. October 15: O'Neal Gray, 51, shot and killed outside his house on the 6000 block of Jesse Owens Avenue in the Roosevelt neighborhood. (map). Toree Jones has been charged with capital murder. [64]
67. October 16: Mathew Walker, 38, found in vacant house on Nelson Drive in Roebuck (map). No arrest. [65]
68. October 17: Susan Young, 46, shot near the 4100 block of 4th Avenue South in Avondale. [66]
69. October 19: Santiago Cunningham, 18, shot on the 6100 block of 1st Avenue North. [67]
70. October 20: Jermaine Johnson, 33, shot on South Park Road near Fulton Avenue Southwest in the Central Park neighborhood. [68]
71. October 21: Matthew Smith, 23 months old, found at home. Pronounced dead at Children's Hospital. Nakia McConnico was taken into custody and has been charged with murder following the coroner's report that the death was a homicide. [69]
72. October 26: Elice Jackson, 44, an eyewitness to the murder of Fairfield Police Officer Mary Smith on October 23, 2006, was found dead behind the wheel of a car that ran into a house on the 500 block of 12th Street Southwest. [70]
73. October 28: Cameron Horn, 15, shot at his cousin's home on the 4800 block of Court R in the Central Park community. The shooting may have been accidental. [71]
74. October 28: Nathan McGee, 29, shot and killed in argument, possibly with his sister, in the parking lot of an apartment building near the intersection of 6th Street North and 16th Terrace North. [72]
75. November 4: Scott Bernstein, 51, found shot to death in his car on Cotton Avenue across the street from New Era Baptist Church. No arrest. [73]
76. November 6: William Wilfred Hackney, 21, shot on the 100 block of 1st Street South in North Titusville. Kenneth Ford, Jr has been charged with capital murder. [74]
77. November 8: David Reeves, 28, shot on Bessemer Super Highway near the Midfield city limits and drove to Avenue K and Meadow Lane before falling unconscious. [75]
78. November 10: Sandra Alexander, also known as Sandra Dingler, 48, stabbed in the closed Parliament House hotel at 4th Avenue South and 20th Street. Four homeless people were taken from the hotel for questioning, of which one is thought to be a suspect. [76]
79. November 11: Clifton Smith, 19, shot on an outside hallway of an apartment on the 2900 block of Gallant Drive. A teenage suspect has been charged with capital murder. [77]
80. November 16: Ashley Stratton, 30, shot in his car on the 4400 block of 11th Court North in Kingston. He was taken to UAB Hospital where he was pronounced dead. [78]
81. November 17: Brandon Cobb, 21, found by mailman on porch of abandoned house at 3906 36th Avenue North in Inglenook. The time and cause of death have not been made public. [79]
82. November 17: Robert V. Payne, 41, found dead, beaten and partially burned in a garage behind a house at 7422 1st Avenue South in East Lake. Christopher Lauderdale has been arrested and charged with murder. [80]
83. November 18: Houston Cook, 33, shot to death on the 100 block of 59th Street North in Woodlawn. A suspect is in custody. [81]
84. November 24: Latrisha Pruitt, 26, found dead in her burned home at 410 West Smithfield Circle in Dolomite. Kortney Simon has been charged with murder and arson. [82]
85. November 25: Ervin Wilkerson, Jr, 29, shot in a pickup truck while fleeing from a gunfight that started at Momma and Sons Hideaway at 3537 37th Street Southwest. Wilkerson was found in an alley behind the 3200 block of Alameda Avenue. [83]
86. November 29: Bobby Germany, 17, found dead from gunshot wound behind an abandoned house in the 800 block of 47th Street North in Kingston. Three people were taken in for questioning. [84]
87. November 29: Lane Mitchell Smiley, 21, shot in car in alley behind the 100 block of 9th Avenue West in East Thomas. [85]
88. December 8: Samuel Holmes, 44, found beaten on 49th Street Ensley in front of Central Park Elementary School. No arrest. [86]
89. December 14: Calvin McLarin, 19, shot at the intersection of 34th Court North and 30th Street. He was taken to UAB Hospital where he was later pronounced dead. [87]
90. December 19: Graham Bankston, 7 weeks old, found shot in back yard at 4220 7th Avenue South in Avondale. His mother, Jennifer Bankston, was also found dead and is believed to have perpetrated a murder-suicide. [88]
91. December 23: David Solis, 38, shot near the 1st Avenue North exit ramp from I-20 in Woodlawn. [89]
92. December 25: Elbert Bell, 52, found shot in garage of house on 5100 block of 9th Avenue North after an argument. A suspect is sought. [90]

Responses

Carole Smitherman, President of the Birmingham City Council proposed increasing staffing for the Narcotics and Vice Units of the Birmingham Police Department as an effort to reduce drug activity, which is thought to be a primary factor in the homicide rate. Mayor Bernard Kincaid replied that the size of those departments is already ideal, and was praised in a recent accreditation review. (Bryant - Jan 12, 2007)

The Council's Public Safety Committee met with John Sloan, Chair of the UAB Department of Justice Sciences, to discuss remedies for the city's crime rate which could be recommended to the Mayor and Police Chief Annetta Nunn. Sloan discussed steps the city of Boston took in the early 1990s to reduce homicide, which started with a detailed analysis of case data. Also at the meeting were Jefferson County Medical Examiner Robert Brissie, who reported that 41% of victims had drugs in their system and called the "drug mess" a "serious, serious problem." Nunn, also in attendence, brought the Council's attention to a 1997 crime reduction plan which has never been fully implemented. (Bryant - Jan 18)

On January 23, the mayor and council endorsed Sloan's study and approved spending as much as $150,000 to have Sloan's department study police records and re-interview suspects, witnesses and family members. Councilor Joel Montgomery expressed the council's decision that the 1997 crime plan was "absolutely irrelevant to what's going on now." (Bryant - Jan 24)

On April 19 the Birmingham Association of Black Journalists held a "Town Hall Meeting on Violence" at 16th Street Baptist Church. Guests included Mayor Bernard Kincaid, Birmingham City Council president Carole Smitherman, Police Chief Annetta Nunn, Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Hale, District Court Judge Eric Fancher, Jefferson County District Attorney David Barber, Alabama Sentencing Commission member Rosa Davis, Birmingham Division of Youth Services director Cedric Sparks, UAB criminologist John Sloan, Reverend Steve Green of More Than Conquerors Faith Church, Carolyn Johnson of Parents Against Violence and Foster Cook of Treatment Alternatives to Street Crimes. The event was televised on Fox 6, ABC 33/40, and CBS 42, and aired live on WAGG AM 610. (Norris - Apr 18)

By June 8, with only 30 homicides compared to 42 at the same point in 2006, the Council acknowledged the police department's apparent successes and decided not to proceed with the proposed study. (Bryant - June 10). With funds, partly from a major narcotics-related seizure, the Police Department has applied for a matching grant to obtain hardware and software for a modern crime database. With the ability to pinpoint crime patterns quickly, the department hopes to better implement the "CompStat" accountability procedures pioneered in the New York Police Department. (Hansen - Aug 5)

Crime reduction was the single most important issue to voters polled prior to the 2007 Birmingham mayoral election. Most candidates spoke in favor of increasing the number of police officers as well as the accountability of the department. Valerie Abbott, William Bell, Patrick Cooper, and Carole Smitherman pledged tougher enforcement, with Cooper offering a "six point plan" based on successful plans implemented in New York City. Larry Langford espoused more discipline in the home and a program to give local students college scholarships as key elements in his crime reduction plan. Langford was elected.

References

• 2007 Press Releases from Birmingham Police Department
• Bryant, Joseph D. (January 12, 2007) "Smitherman says homicides linked to drugs." Birmingham News.
• Bryant, Joseph D. (January 18, 2007) "Council wants data on city's homicides." Birmingham News.
• Bryant, Joseph D. (January 24, 2007) "Homicides focus of $150,000 plan." Birmingham News.
• Norris, Toraine (April 18, 2007) "Black Birmingham journalists to host town hall meeting on violence." Birmingham News.
• Robinson, Carol (May 1, 2007) "Homicides decline in first three months." Birmingham News.
• Bryant, Joseph D. (June 10, 2007) "With slayings down, crime study shelved." Birmingham News.
• Hansen, Jeff (August 5, 2007) "Crime date brings stats into focus." Birmingham News.
• Robinson, Carol (September 29, 2007) "Riley offers rewards in local slayings." Birmingham News.

See also

• List of Jefferson County homicides in 2007