2010 Birmingham homicides

This is a List of Birmingham homicides in 2010. 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.

63 homicides were reported in the city in 2010. Based on the 2010 census estimate of 229,151 population, that represents 27.9 homicides per 100,000 population for the year. Birmingham had 72 homicides in 2009, 90 in 2008, and a record of 141 in 1992.

Birmingham averaged 5.3 homicides per month, or one every 5.7 days. There was 1 incident in January, 3 in February, 4 in March, 4 in April, 4 in May, 7 in June, 5 in July, 3 in August, 7 in September, 10 in October, 3 in November and 12 in December. The longest stretch without a homicide was the 26 days between February 10 and March 8. Ten deaths were reported on Sundays, 9 on Mondays, 5 on Tuesdays, 10 on Wednesdays, 9 on Thursdays, 11 on Fridays and 9 on Saturdays.

Of the 63 reported homicides, suspects have been identified in 41 cases, apprehended in 41, charged in 32 and convicted in 1 by a guilty plea. Two homicides were ruled justifiable by prosecutors (with another case pending), one resulted from an incident that happened in the year prior, and one was the result of negligence. Two others, caused by reckless driving rather than malice aforethought, were charged as homicide, but not murder. Not counting those, the police department acknowledges 56 murders in its tabulation for the year, of which 20 remained unsolved by year's end.

At least 48 of the 63 reported homicides were shootings; three were stabbings; three resulted from beatings; and two from vehicular collisions. Ten cases appeared to be domestic disputes, and two were the result of child abuse. Robbery appeared to be the motive in 5 cases, fleeing from police pursuit caused another, and one resulted from an attempt to break up a fight. Police Chief A. C. Roper estimates that about 35 to 40 percent of the city's homicides are drug-related. In about 3/4ths of homicides the victim and perpetrator were previously acquainted.

27 incidents took place on the streets, 1 in a park, 3 in parking lots, 6 inside businesses, 3 at apartment complexes and 22 at homes or apartments. 52 victims were males and 11 were females.

Listing by date

1. January 20: Antonio Smith, 30, died at UAB Hospital from gunshot wounds suffered in a robbery at his home on December 20, 2009^1.. He lived at 825 18th Place Southwest in Southwest Birmingham. (map) No arrest. (report)
2. February 7: Rachel Lee Blair, 26, was found stabbed to death in her apartment at the Forest Ridge Apartments at 660 Valley Crest Drive (map). Linus Curtis was arrested and charged with capital murder. (report)
3. February 7: Steve Hilson, 25, was found shot to death near his car on the 1800 block of Princeton Court (map). He had been shot more than 20 times. Brandon Bean was arrested at an apartment on Wilson Court Way on March 5 and charged with murder. He was in possession of crack cocaine packaged for distribution and also faces drug charges. Hilson's brother, Keith, was murdered on June 17. (report)
4. February 10: Jeffrey Wormley, 47, was shot in the head after answering his door at 3428 Willard Avenue Southwest (map). No arrest. (report)
5. March 8: Antonio King, Sr, 33, died at UAB Hospital from gunshot injuries suffered during a fight at an apartment at 407 Tuscaloosa Avenue Southwest (map). His toddler son was injured in the shooting. King's cousin, Michael Ward, surrendered to police at the scene and was charged with murder and attempted murder. (report)
6. March 16: Terrez Watkins, 29, was shot multiple times in an apartment parking lot at 1525 18th Street Ensley (map). He was among a group of men helping to repair a car when an argument erupted over a broken bolt. Denaris Unte Montgomery fired seven shots at his friend, hitting him four times. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 21 years in prison. (report)
7. March 24: Roderick Reynolds, 30, was shot in a gunfight and found dead inside a black SUV at 1700 33rd Street North in Norwood Gardens (map). Cornelius Fenderson was arrested and charged with capital murder. (report)
8. March 28: Angel Munos, 30, was shot while attempting to break up a fight at Spud's Club at 5800 Oporto-Madrid Boulevard South (map). Munos' cousin was also injured by gunfire. Hugo Cruz was arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder. (report)
9. April 1: Richard Ryans, 22, was shot at 39 South Park Road (map). Larry Jefferson was charged with murder and subsequently taken into custody. (report)
10. April 3: Pamela Cupps, 50, was killed in an auto collision at Daniel Payne Drive and Coalburg Road (map). Because the other driver was feeling Fultondale Police officers and ran a red light, causing the fatal collission, he was charged with murder. (report)
11. April 4 (Easter): Marcos Esteban Nunez, 52, was found badly beaten following an assault report at 1802 50th Place North (map). He was pronounced dead on arrival at UAB Hospital. Two suspects were taken into custody. (report)
12. April 27: Ericka Jean, 27, was shot five times during a domestic argument in her car on the 800 block of Avenue F Ensley (map). Her fiance, David Gaines, 37, was also injured in the incident. He drove her to St Vincent's Hospital and was taken into custody there. He has later charged with capital murder. On March 11, 2011, a jury found Gaines guilty of manslaughter. (report)
13. May 5: Marqualius Hakeen Harris, 18, was found shot to death in a breezeway at Beaconview Apartments, 1257 Beacon Parkway East (map). According to investigators, he was killed in an attempt to rob two other males who were injured in the incident. Prosecutors deemed the homicide justified as self defense^2.. (report)
14. May 15: Ahmad "Maud G." Lewis, 20, died from a gunshot suffered in a shooting on the 800 block of 3rd Avenue North (map). Brandon Oden was arrested and charged with capital murder. Six people on waiting lists received organs Lewis donated. (report)
15. May 28: Dexter Roland, 27, was shot multiple times in an attempted robbery at his apartment 721 4th Terrace West (map). No arrest. (report)
16. May 29: Steven Clark, 31, was found shot to death at 2805 Wallace Covington Circle (map). Dwight Moneyham was arrested and charged with murder. (report)
17. June 6: Alex Rogers, Jr, 69, was shot to death during a robbery at 1601 52nd Street Ensley (map). Detrick McGee and Larry Henderson were arrested and charged. (report)
18. June 8: Randolph Lajuan Graves, 35, was shot at the Huffman Chevron station at 700 Springville Road in Huffman (map). Karl Escott was arrested and charged with murder. (report)
19. June 12: Ruth Wawira Munene, 51, was found stabbed to death inside an apartment on the 200 block of 21st Avenue South near Green Springs Highway (map). Her former roommate, Nancy Kinuthia, was arrested in Muscle Shoals and charged with murder. (report)
20. June 18: Keith Hilson, 24, was targeted in a shootout on the 4600 block of Terrace S Ensley near Bessemer Road (map). His assailant used an assault rifle and was driven to the scene in a white Acura. No arrest. Hilson's brother, Steve, was the victim of a homicide on February 7. (report)
21. June 18: Ra'Sheed Ali Ward, 19, was killed accidentally in the shootout on the 4600 block of Terrace S Ensley near Bessemer Road (map). No arrest. (report)
22. June 24: Tyrone Davis, 35, was shot in the 700 block of Albany Street in Wylam (map) and died while being transferred from Princeton Baptist Medical Center to UAB Hospital. (report)
23. June 27: Anita Pickett, 32, died after her car fell from the I-20/59 overpass near the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex (map) following a collision. Michelle Gill, the driver of an SUV that rear ended her, did not stop at the scene or turn herself in. She was located a few days later from a tip, taken into custody, and later charged with manslaughter and felony leaving the scene of an accident. (report)
24. July 5: Dominique Nixon, 17, was shot and killed at the Green Springs Chevron at the corner of Green Springs Highway and Valley Avenue (map). A suspect was taken into custody. (report)
25. July 11: George Phillips, 54, was found shot to death in a white pick-up truck at 4555 13th Avenue North (map). No arrest. (report)
26. July 16: Melvin Bozeman, 31, was shot to death in front of a house on the 700 block of 47th Street North (map). Investigators determined that the shooter, the mother of his child, was acting in self-defense and filed no charges. (report)
27. July 17: Devonnterrius Randall, 15, was found shot to death on the sidewalk in front of the Shell Stop and Go at 1316 Bessemer Road (map), apparently a victim of a stray bullet. Terrance Thigpen was arrested and charged with capital murder. (report)
28. July 21: Kelvin Smith, 25, was found shot to death on the steps of his apartment building at 1425 Steiner Avenue Southwest near Woodward Park (map). No arrest. (report)
29. August 15: Maurice Coleman, 29, was ambushed and shot to death on the 1000 block of 1st Street North just after midnight (map). A second man was injured in the shootout. The suspects left in a dark green SUV. (report)
30. August 21: Michael Hall, 49, a resident of the Loveman Village project, died two days after being found with gunshot and beating injuries on the 100 block of Coolidge Court Way SW (map). Charles Williams and Francis Williams were arrested and charged with murder. (report)
31. August 27: Marquis Carter, 29, was shot to death on the front porch of a home in the Collegeville Housing Community (map). Earl Dailey was arrested and charged with murder in early September. (report)
32. September 8: Courtney Page, 19, died in surgery at UAB Hospital after being shot several times following an argument outside his house at 1792 51st Street Ensley (map). No arrest. (report)
33. September 11: Donnell McKinney, 26, was shot in the back during an assault in the parking lot of the Sunrise Pointe Apartments off Oporto-Madrid Boulevard (map). Two others were wounded in the altercation between parties in a drug deal. No arrest. (report)
34. September 13: Lamarcus Dewayne Ivy, 26, was shot to death inside an apartment on the 100 block of Pratt Highway in Pratt City (map). Two suspects have been taken into custody. (report)
35. September 16: Virginia "Faye" Rardon, 68, was found dead in her home on Meadowdale Avenue in Roebuck (map). She appeared at first to have died from natural causes, but further investigation gave authorities reason to believe a crime had been committed. Her nephew, James Cobb Hutto III, was arrested after a brief chase on I-85 in Auburn. He has been charged with murder, and is also charged in another murder in Mississippi, and an attempted murder in Lee County. (report)
36. September 18: Cornelius Pickett, 33, an assistant coach for the Wylam Youth Football 120-pound team, was shot to death following an argument that took place in traffic leaving a Jackson-Olin High School reunion in the 500 block of 14th Street Ensley (map. The driver of a purple Mercury Grand Marquis is suspected. No arrest. (report)
37. September 20: Antauan Palmore, 2, died from head injuries at Children's Hospital. His mother, Erin Wills, had been charged with child abuse after he was brought into intensive care. Her boyfriend, Damarcus Williams was charged with capital murder. (report)
38. September 25: Erika Hall, 23, was found dead from a gunshot to the head at her home on the 1700 block of 49th Street Ensley (map). Herbert Nelson, Jr, the father of her children, called police from the house and admitted to killing her, but claimed that it was accidental. He was taken into custody at the scene and charged with intentional murder. (report)
39. October 6: Angelo White, 61, was shot to death in a dispute with another man on the 2900 block of Avenue I in Ensley (map). (report)
40. October 9: Donnie Ratliff, 23, was shot to death at a car wash at Richard Arrington, Jr Boulevard North and 42nd Place North map). Suspect Willie Lee turned himself in ten days later, (report)
41. October 13: Johnny Vines, 67, was found dead and rolled up in a rug in the back of his girlfriend's house, which had been set ablaze while she was running errands, at 3461 Laurel Avenue Southwest in Southwest Birmingham (map). Edward Eugene Williams, Vines' girlfriend's brother, was arrested in Michigan and charged with murder and arson. (report)
42. October 13: Lee Frank Webster, 56, was found stabbed and rolled up in a rug in the same house. (report)
43. October 17: Israel Owens, 3, died after being struck in the chest by his mother's boyfriend while he was at work at the UAB Health Information Management Department at UAB Hospital. An autopsy showed that torn heart tissue was the cause of death, and also showed signs of prior abuse. Marcus Smith was charged with capital murder. (report)
44. October 29: Bernice Kelly, 59, was found stabbed to death, along with her son and niece, in a burning apartment at 1297 44th Street North. Dontae Callen, her nephew, was charged with capital murder and has admitted to having stabbed them to death and attempting to hide evidence. (report)
45. October 29: Quortes Kelly, 33, was found with his mother and cousin in the same apartment.
46. October 29: Aailyah Budgess, 12, was found with her aunt and cousin in the same apartment.
47. October 29: Derek Dobine, 22, was fatally wounded in a shootout on the 4600 block of Avenue V near Five Points West. Frederick Spencer has been arrested and charged with murder. (report)
48. October 29: Terry Walker, 51, was found shot to death in the front yard of the house at 2522 Avenue F in Ensley. No arrest. (report)
49. November 16: Manderious Oden, 23, was forced to strip, shot and robbed of cash by masked intruders wearing "police" t-shirts in the basement of his home on 24th Street Ensley. He died at UAB Hospital the next morning. Three others were uninjured. 9 pounds of marijuana was found in the house, and $18,000 in cash was recovered in a nearby alley. No arrest. (report)
50. November 17: Clifford Whitely, 21, was shot multiple times at East Brownsville Park at Felix Avenue Southwest and Spaulding Street in New Hill. His car was later recovered on Carol Street off Wenonah Road. Tommy Williams has been charged with capital murder. Four other persons arrested at the scene were charged with drug and gun violations and disorderly conduct. (report)
51. November 20: Jerry Davis, 52, was stabbed in the 800 block of 77th Way North. Jeanetta Harris, the mother of his child, accompanied him to UAB Hospital. She was taken into custody there and later charged with murder. (story)
52. December 10: Rodney Derwin Matthews, 37, was found shot to death in the driver's seat of a green Honda Civic on the 1900 block of 31st Avenue North in North Birmingham. The shooter was likely in the passenger seat. No arrest. (report)
53. December 11: Johnny Lee Hall, Jr, 37, was found shot to death in the driver's seat of a vehicle on the 5600 block of 8th Avenue in Wylam. No arrest. (report)
54. December 13: Marcus Smith, 39, was found shot to death in the back yard of a house on the 4300 block of 47th Avenue North. Marshall Pearson, Darrius Pearson, Rodney Sturdivant and Jamarcus McKinney were charged with capital murder. (report)
55. December 17: Randall Smith, 55, was shot to death inside a house at 4004 Walnut Avenue in Southwest Birmingham. No arrest. (report)
56. December 20: Julian Edward Tarver, 32, was found shot to death in the driver's seat of a 1999 Cadillac on the 1300 block of 57th Street in Ensley. No arrest. (report)
57. December 20: Samuel Arthur Shelby, 32, was found shot to death in the passenger's seat of a 1999 Cadillac on the 1300 block of 57th Street in Ensley. No arrest. (report)
58. December 23: Denarius Moore, 24, was gunned down at 4340 Vanderbilt Road. No arrest. (report)
59. December 26: Dontravis Antonio Smoot, 27, was shot to death in the 700 block of 1st Alley South. The deceased may have been attempting to rob someone when he was shot. The shooter has been interviewed, but no ruling made on charges. report)
60. December 27: Jacky Nguyen, 60, was found shot to death, along with his common-law wife, inside their business, Top Perfect Nails at 2119 Bessemer Road near Five Points West. No arrest. A $10,000 reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case. (report)
61. December 27: Nhut Phan, 50, was found shot to death, along with her common-law husband, inside their business, Top Perfect Nails. A $10,000 reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case. (report)
62. December 28: Jaime Luna Jutierrez, 43, was found shot to death and dumped on the 2200 block of Ishkooda-Wneonah Road in Southwest Birmingham. Marcus Benn confessed and was charged with capital murder. (report)
63. December 29: An unidentified hispanic male was found in a drainage ditch on the 3500 block of Carver Avenue. Marcus Benn confessed and was charged with capital murder. (report)

Notes

1. Although Smith was shot in 2009, his January 20, 2010 death became the year's first homicide investigation.
2. Because Harris' death resulted from an act of self-defense, it is not counted in murder statistics.

Responses

A "March Against Violence" was organized on July 29 by Brenda Ward, mother of Ra'Sheed Ward, who was killed on June 17. The day would have been Ra'Sheed's 20th birthday. Approximately 55 people participated in the demonstration which began at Marino's Associated Foods on Bessemer Road and proceeded down Terrace S in Ensley.

References

• Robinson, Carol (Februay 1, 2010) "Birmingham goes a month without a murder, but police say still much work to be done." Birmingham News
• Gray, Jeremy (July 29, 2010) "March seeks end to Birmingham's violent crime." Birmingham News
• Robinson, Carol (December 31, 2010) "Questions go unanswered as police continue search in unsolved Birmingham slayings." Birmingham News
• Robinson, Carol (December 31, 2010) "Birmingham's unsolved homicides from 2010." Birmingham News
• Robinson, Carol (January 1, 2011) "Birmingham sees fewer homicides in 2010." Birmingham News
• Velaso, Eric (March 12, 2011) "Shooter guilty of reduced charge; Gaines convicted of shooting his fiancee inside car." Birmingham News

External links

• Slayings in the Birmingham area, 2010, Google Map created by the Birmingham News

See also

• List of homicides in 2010
• Birmingham homicides by year
• Crime in Birmingham