2015 Birmingham homicides

This is a List of Birmingham homicides in 2015. It includes homicide cases occurring 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.

A total of 57 homicides have been reported in the city as of September 24, putting the city on pace for 78 for the year. Based on the 2014 census estimate of 212,247 population, that would represent 36.7 homicides per 100,000 population. Birmingham had a record low of 62 homicides in 2014 and 69 homicides in 2013. The recent record high was 141 in 1992. At this time in 2014 there had been 48 homicides reported.

The city has averaged 6.5 homicides per month, or one every 4.7 days. There were 7 incidents in January, 8 in February, 7 in March, 7 in April, 10 in May, 2 in June, 11 in July, 4 in August and 1 so far in September. The longest stretch without a homicide was the 24 days between May 30 & June 22. Nine deaths were reported on Sundays, 9 on Mondays, 9 on Tuesdays, 8 on Wednesdays, 7 on Thursdays, 11 on Fridays and 4 on Saturdays.

Of the 57 reported homicides, suspects have been identified in 31 cases, apprehended in 26, and charged in 17. One other suspect died on the scene. Eight incidents, including two police shootings, were apparent self-defense, four were caused by reckless driving rather than malice aforethought, and one resulted from neglecting the welfare of a child. The police department therefore acknowledges 47 chargeable homicides, of which 39 so far have been classified as murders.

At least forty-five homicides were shootings, five resulted from vehicle collisions, two from strangulation, one from blunt trauma, one from stabbing and two from abuse to children. Eighteen took place on the streets, eight in yards or driveways, sixteen inside homes, four at gas stations or convenience stores, nine at apartment complexes, one at an auto body shop and one in a motel. Thirty-one were reported in the West Precinct, 19 in the East Precinct, 3 in the South Precinct and 6 in the North Precinct. Eleven deaths were the result of domestic disputes or love triangles, two from ongoing disagreements, two occurred during robberies, one was a staged fight that got out of hand, six were drug related, four were caused by reckless driving, and another resulted from child abuse. Forty-eight victims were male and nine were female.

Listing by date

1. January 4: Darrell Edward Watkins, 37, was struck by a car while walking along Ishkooda Road on his way home from a neighborhood shop. He was taken to UAB Hospital where he died from his injuries. No arrest. (report)
2. January 6: Jaremiah Mason Hayes, 2, died at Children's Hospital from head injuries sustained at his home in Ensley. The Jefferson County Coroner determined that the death was a homicide. D'Juan Lovell Steen, a boyfriend of the victim's mother, was arrested and charged with capital murder. The charge was reduced to manslaughter by Judge Virginia Vinson after a preliminary hearing. (report)
3. January 14: Cheryl Smith, 38, was crushed by a car following an argument with her husband at their home on the 1700 block of 34th Street North in Norwood. No arrest. (report)
4. January 16: Lucretia Rachel, 45, was found strangled to death in room 111 of the Birmingham Inn on 3rd Avenue West. Johnny "Squeeky" Coach, Jr was arrested and charged with murder. (report)
5. January 16: Mark Andrew Kieskowski, 47, was found strangled to death in his living room on the 900 block of 28th Street South in Highland Park. Jason Paul Hopkins and Dane Donovan Leach were arrested in Shelby County and charged with capital murder. (report)
6. January 26: James Darryl Kinnion, 46, was found shot to death at the corner of 33rd Avenue and 34th Street North in Collegeville. No arrest. (report)
7. January 30: Jeffrey Cade, 45, was shot to death in his car at the Shell station at Princeton Parkway and 3rd Avenue West. No arrest (report)
8. February 5: Tydarius Dewayne Adams, 29, was shot to death in a breezeway at the Watertown Apartments on Watertown Circle after an argument over a suspected drug transaction. No arrest. (report)
9. February 7: Raphael Roman, 29, was found shot at Interlaken Avenue and 64th Court Way South in Marks Village housing project. He had argued with his girlfriend earlier and then with her brother, who is the suspected shooter. Ronald Austin was arrested and charged with murder. (report)
10. February 10: Anthony Dewantez "Scooter" Jones, 28, was shot to death in a drive-by while standing on a driveway on the 4000 block of 38th Avenue North, across from Inglenook Park in Inglenook. Genarro Wilks was arrested in July and charged with murder. (report)
11. February 17: Miracle Stinson, 14, was shot to death outside his grandmother's home at 2600 Avenue L following an altercation at the Ensley Library. Jibrail Hutchinson was arrested and charged with murder. (report)
12. February 20: Stanley Lamar Grant, 38, was shot and killed by a Homewood Police officer returning fire during a drug warrant search at the Towncrest Apartments on the 2200 block of Green Springs Highway. (report)
13. February 26: Brittany Nicole Ford, 21, died at UAB Hospital from injuries sustained in a February 12 shooting on the 7500 block of 66th Court Way South in the Marks Village housing community. She was hit inside her apartment by a stray bullet fired during a confrontation outside. Philiech Antonio Ansley was charged with murder on June 15 and turned himself in a month later. (report)
14. February 26: Fredrick Junior Pryor, 24, was found shot to death inside his Chevy C1500 pick-up on the 500 block of Avenue B in Pratt City. Quindon Turner was arrested in April and charged with murder. (report)
15. February 27: Kierra'onna "Keke" Rice, 14, was shot in the chest, and then run over by a car, in the aftermath of a long-simmering fight staged for social media at Washington Park, on the 900 block of Washington Avenue near Princeton Hospital. Antonio King and Jason Wade were charged with murder and assault (report)
16. March 1: Cedric Dewayne Pierson, 32, died at UAB Hospital from injuries sustained in a February 22 gunfight inside a home on the 7400 block of 1st Avenue South. Pierson and his brother were visiting the homeowner's nephew when her son, Cadarius Owens, came to check on her and got into an argument with them. Both were wounded in the shooting. Owens was initially charged with first-degree assault, with a murder charge added after Pierson's death. (report)
17. March 3: Stewart Antonio Pritchett, 27, was fatally wounded in a shooting at a traffic signal on the 1500 block of Pearson Avenue Southwest. According to witnesses he approached a vehicle at the light and fired into it and was hit by return fire. The shooter was also wounded, but is expected to recover. (report)
18. March 4: Willie Albert Stevens, 30, was shot and killed at a home on Columbia Street at Dugan Avenue in North Pratt. He reportedly came to the house of his former girlfriend and assaulted her before her current boyfriend intervened. The argument ended with the shooting. The shooter was taken into custody at the scene, but has not been charged. (report)
19. March 10: Van Clair Williams, 71, was found shot to death outside his vehicle, which was parked on his driveway on the 600 block of Parkview Drive in eastern Birmingham. A gun was recovered nearby, but was found not to have fired the fatal shot. No arrest. (report)
20. March 10: Jarvis Kawanz Bell, 25, was found shot to death inside a Chevrolet Impala on the 2700 block of Burrell Street near Slayden Avenue in Ensley. Bell was expected to testify against Jaymee Smith for the 2012 murder of Jarvis Bell, but his murder, which appears to have resulted from a disputed drug deal, is not believed to have been related to his pending testimony. No arrest. (report)
21. March 22: Lamarkus Demon Hamilton, 19, died from a gunshot wound he received at an apartment complex on the 1000 block of Tuscaloosa Avenue Southwest on the previous Friday afternoon. Chanze Jones was arrested and charged with murder. (report)
22. March 27: Douglas Harris, 77, died at UAB Hospital after being shot by Birmingham Police officer conducting a welfare check at his apartment in the East Lake House on the 7900 block of 1st Avenue South. The officer went to the Harris' door on the 4th floor and knocked. Harris pulled a gun. The officer fired in apparent self-defense. The Alabama Bureau of Investigation is reviewing the incident. (report)
23. April 4: An unnamed male was found shot to death in the front yard of a home on the 7900 block of Rugby Avenue in South East Lake. No arrest (report)
24. April 17: John Howard Loganm, 84, last seen alive in January, was found shot to death under piles of debris inside a home on the 1300 block of Cresthill Road in Crestwood South. No arrest. (report)
25. April 21: Jawan Antonio Woods, 28, was shot to death in a car parked outside 1587 Washington Street in Dolomite. No arrest. The house was set on fire a week later. Tavaris Antoine Paries was arrested in May and charged with capital murder. (report)
26. April 22: Linda Garrison Jones, 69, was killed when her car was struck by a stolen truck at the intersection of 56th Street South and Crestwood Boulevard. The driver, Martin Jay Creasman, was charged with two counts of reckless murder, vehicle theft, and hindering prosecution. He also has outstanding warrants for escape, unlawful flight, failure to appear, and narcotics possession. (report)
27. April 22: Margie Smith "Deanie" Lovell, 92, a passenger in the same incident, died later of her injuries at UAB Hospital.
28. April 27: Lajarvis Arnette "Jarvis" Holmes, 30, was shot to death during a confrontation near his mother's house at Maple Avenue and 16th Way Southwest in Powderly. The shooting came a few hours after police broke up a fight between Holmes and his wife. The wife and a male friend of hers, the suspected shooter, were taken into custody shortly afterward. They were released pending a Grand Jury hearing on whether the death resulted from self-defense or from a criminal act. (report)
29. April 30: Corey Alexander Smith, 22, was killed in an argument inside a car on the 2300 block of 7th Way Northwest behind Devonshire Place Apartments. Corey Washington was arrested and charged with murder. (report)
30. May 2: Nicholas Smith, 23, died at UAB Hospital from head injuries suffered in a shooting at 44th Street and 12th Court North in Kingston. No arrest. (report)
31. May 4: Willie Cornelius "Itty Bitty" Washington, 35, was found shot to death, along with two other victims, inside an officially abandoned home at 457 3rd Street North in Smithfield. No arrest. (report)
32. May 4: Johnny Kordara Griffin, 24, was found shot to death in the same house. Griffin had pleaded guilty to robbing a woman of her pick-up truck at knifepoint in 2014.
33. May 4: Korde Lorodius Turner, 24, was found shot to death in the same house. Turner had been charged with the 2009 death of Leroy "Little Fred" Yarbrough, but claimed self-defense and was acquitted in 2013.
34. May 9: James Tevarus Williams, 32, was found shot to death on the porch of a home on the 2600 block of 19th Avenue North during an argument over drugs. Investigators concluded that the shooting was in self defense and declined to prosecute. (report)
35. May 10: Vanderick Lavorne Thomas, 28, was found shot to death in the kitchen of a home at 303 6th Street Southwest after an apparent argument over gambling. The suspected shooter was admitted to UAB Hospital with gunshot wounds. Thomas previously pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter in the 2005 death of Nathan Campbell. (report)
36. May 13: Michael Adryen Pace, 22, died after being shot multiple times late on the evening of May 11 on the 4400 block of Richard Arrington, Jr Boulevard North. Carl Beasley was arrested in June and charged with murder. (report)
37. May 14: Henry Lee "Ra Ra" Toles, 33, died at UAB Hospital two days after being shot during a dispute over a woman outside the Wylam Junction convenience store on the 3900 block of 9th Court Wylam, across from Wylam Elementary School. Toles had killed Harold Eugene Davis in March 2014, but it was ruled self-defense. Tarus Hawkins was arrested on May 22 and charged with murder. He had previously been cleared in a self-defense shooting in 2014. (report)
38. May 25: Charlie Fuller, 86, died at UAB Hospital from trauma suffered when he was attacked and beaten while feeding his dogs in the garage of his home on Carver Avenue Southwest in Grasselli Heights on May 13. No arrest. A $5,000 reward for information leading to a conviction in the case has been offered by the Governor's office. (report)
39. May 29: An unnamed female was shot to death during an altercation in front of a home on the 2800 block of Avenue F in Ensley. The fatal shot may have been accidentally fired by a member of her family. Several people were taken into custody at the scene, but charges have not been filed. (report)
40. June 23: Antwon Dewayne Jones, 33, was fatally wounded in a gunfight at the Forest Hills Village apartments on Tempest Drive off of Ishkooda Road in Powderly. No arrest. (report)
41. June 26: Gary Johnson, 56, was shot to death during a domestic argument at his home on the 100 block of Lake Drive Northeast in Huffman. A grand jury declined to indict his wife, who testified that her husband was drunk and roughing her up, and that she intended to fire a warning shot that accidentally struck him in the head. (report)
42. July 1: Shamar Polk, 15, was shot to death at the Jet Pep station on Pinson Valley Parkway at Winewood Road in Echo Highlands. He and two other teenagers had been approaching cars at the station. The shooter left the scene. No arrest. (report)
43. July 1: Chris Cooley, 41, was found shot to death with his wife at their home on the 1200 block of 5th Avenue West in College Hills. No arrest. (report)
44. July 1: Alexandria Dowe, 21, was found dead in the same incident.
45. July 5: Edward Donnell Wheat, 53, was stabbed to death on the porch of a home on the 7200 block of 2nd Avenue South in South East Lake when he tried to break up a fight between a woman and another man. The other man, Charles Edward Johnson, 45, also died at the scene, possibly from a heart attack or drug overdose.
46. July 9: Forrest Jackson Jr, 39, died at UAB Hospital from gunshot wounds suffered on June 16 on the 200 block of Memphis Street in Wylam. No arrest. (report)
47. July 12: Rontorius Coleman, 3, was pronounced dead on arrival at Children's Hospital from injuries sustained in an assault at 810 44th Place North. Cornelius Warren was arrested and charged with capital murder. (report)
48. July 13: Dettrick Ramsey, 61, was found dead in his burning house at 88 Redstone Way in Killough Springs. The Jefferson County Coroner determined that there was evidence that the death was caused by homicide. No arrest. (report)
49. July 20: Paul Hicks Jr, 31, was fatally wounded by gunshot while sitting in a van which was stopped on the 1400 block of Warrior Road. No arrest. (report)
50. July 26: Bobby Deval Todd, 22, was found dead on the 3200 block of Fayette Avenue after he was struck by a vehicle. The driver did not stop and has not been found. (report)
51. July 31: Keith "Raoul" Robinson, was shot to death during a fight outside Young's Food Mart at 1547 Bessemer Road in Ensley. A suspect was taken into custody at the scene, but was released when the shooting was ruled justifiable (report)
52. July 31: Chrystol Moore, 37, was shot to death at her home at 2120 Pike Road in Ensley. Her father, Mathew Moore, was taken into custody at the scene. He allegedly killed his daughter because she refused to buy alcohol for him. (report)
53. August 11: An unnamed male was found with a gunshot wound inside Five Points Collision at 2308 Warrior Road. He later died at UAB Hospital. Investigators are unsure whether the shooting may have been accidental and/or self-inflicted. No arrest.
54. August 23: Ahmodd Arnold, 36, was found shot to death inside a house at 437 37th Court West in Hooper City. No arrest. (report)
55. August 23: Jacoria Ray, 20, was found shot to death on the side of the 47th Avenue North bridge over I-65 near Evergreen Missionary Baptist Church. Antonio Williams was arrested and charged with capital murder. (report)
56. August 28: Cameron "Cam" Toles, 16, was shot in the back of the head while leaving a party at the Springville Landing Apartments at 721 Springville Road. Robert Clarke was taken into custody and charged with murder. (report)
57. September 12: Antonio Mathews, 33, was shot in a gunfight near 119 Taft Court Way in the Loveman Village housing project. He died at UAB Hospital. No arrest. (report)

Responses

Mothers Who Want The Violence To Stop organized a candlelight vigil at the intersection of 3rd Street and 4th Terrace North in Smithfield to memorialize the victims of the May 4 triple homicide. William Bell joined neighborhood president Shirley Floyd and Reverend Dwayne Thompson at the service, which also raised $1,000 to help the victims' families cover the expense of funerals.

See also

• List of homicides in 2015
• Birmingham homicides by year
• Crime in Birmingham

References

• Smith, Mike D. (May 7, 2015) "Friends, family remember Smithfield triple murder victims at candlelight vigil." The Birmingham News