List of homicides in 2008

This is a List of homicides in 2008, including homicide cases reported throughout the Birmingham District. As of August 27 a total of 87 homicides have been reported in the area during 2008. Note that a "homicide" refers to the cause of death as determined by a medical examiner, not to the crime of murder as charged by prosecutors and determined by plea or trial.

Jefferson County

Adamsville

1. June 12: Mary Moore, 90, died of malnutrition and infection after being taken from her home to Princeton Baptist Medical Center. Her death was ruled a homicide by neglect by the Jefferson County Coroner's Office and is being investigated. [1]

Bessemer

1. March 1: Kimberly Minter, 40, was shot in the bedroom of a house on the 2000 block of Granville Avenue by a relative. [2]
2. March 15: Antonio Cottrell, 26, shot in a struggle with Roderick Dewayne Dunklin at 202 Ball Avenue in Muscoda. Dunklin turned himself in and was charged with murder. [3]
3. March 31: Angel Hester, 4, killed in a one-car accident near the interesection of Powder Plant Road and Johns Road. Her father, Charles Hester, Jr, has been charged with reckless murder. She was not in a child safety seat and authorities believe Hester to have been driving under the influence. He had been previously cited for DUI and improper child restraint. [4]
4. June 22: Alberto Perez, 34, shot and killed during a shootout at the Las Diaz nightclub at 3430 9th Avenue North. Ceslo Armento Cano has been arrested and charged with capital murder. [5]
5. June 22: Unnamed male shot and killed during a shootout at the Las Diaz nightclub at 3430 9th Avenue North. Ceslo Armento Cano has been arrested and charged with capital murder. [6]
6. July 7: Sebastian "Chick" Allen, 69, was found dead in his home on the 400 block of Memorial Drive. Chris Jones, a friend of Allen's, was arrested on July 26 and implicated himself in a sworn statement. [7]
7. July 26: Andra Johnson, 47, shot in the back of the head while he and two friends were "goofing around" with a gun while driving on Westlake Road at Lakeridge Drive. Asher Bole has been arrested and charged with reckless murder. [8]

Birmingham

• 57 homicides as of August 27 (list)

Brighton

1. March 1: Sergio Romero Cuevas, 28, died at UAB Hospital after being shot in a gunfight that began with an armed robbery attempt at the Holiday Mobile Home Park on the 4300 block of Bessemer Road. (map). At least one suspect is in custody. [9]

Center Point

1. January 10: Norber Lea Payne, 40, shot by an intruder in her home at 27 25th Court Northwest. Her former boyfriend, Jeffery Tyrone Riggs, surrendered to investigators. A gun was recovered from his parents' home. [10]
2. June 29: Luis Dagoberto Hernandez Lopez, 40, was found dead from blunt-force head trauma in the grass outside an apartment building on the 1800 block of Amberwood Drive. Kordarius Beasley, 18, was arrested and charged with murder. [11]

Fairfield

1. January 7: Damion Sherrod, 25, shot on the 6800 block of Terrace Court following an argument in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart on Aaron Aranov Drive. Harrell Hammel Jr has been apprehended and charged with murder. [12]
2. July 4: Michael Kemp, 40, shot in an apparent domestic dispute on the 6400 block of Avenue E. A suspect is in custody, but charges have not yet been filed. [13]

Gardendale

1. April 13: Rufina Granados Gutierrez, 25, found shot to death in a parking lot at 835 Odom Road. The circumstances of her murder are believed to have been a domestic dispute. Hedilberto "Eddie" Rodriguez is being sought on suspicion of murder. His abandoned pickup truck was recovered in Bradenton, Florida on May 18. [14]

Graysville

1. July 6: Michael Curtis Robinson, 24, found dead in his grandparents' driveway on the 300 block of 15th Avenue Southeast. The death is thought to have resulted from a domestic dispute. Robinson's half-brother Jonathan Melcher is accused of running him over with his Ford Explorer after arranging to fight him behind a store. He has been arrested and charged with murder.

[15]

Homewood

1. March 22: Karim El-Amin, 25, found dead in his residence at the Aspen Trace Apartments. His roommate, Marelo Devorria Harris, was arrested and charged with capital murder. [hhttp://blog.al.com/spotnews/2008/03/homewood_police_charge_man_in.html]
2. April 4: Matthew David McLain, 23, found shot at Regent's Walk Apartments on Raleigh Avenue. No arrest. [16]

Leeds

1. May 8: Kevin Connell, 43, one of two people shot to death on the 8100 block of Douglas Avenue in the Cedar Grove Apartments. Floyd Wesley Thomas and Unique Hutchinson were arrested and charged with murder on September 1. Two juveniles were also arrested and charged with first degree robbery in connection with the case. [17]
2. May 8: Sergio Scott, 15, was the second victim in the shooting of Kevin Connell.

Pinson

1. May 25: Timothy Wayne Terrell, 30, was shot on the deck of a home on the 5100 block of Pinson Valley Parkway near the Mimosa Trailer Park. A neighbor, Enrique Vera, is believed to have shot him in a dispute over money. He has been charged with murder, but remains at large. [18]

Tarrant

1. May: Nicholas Lopez was shot at an apartment complex. Robert Nunn, Omar Toney, Brandon Taylor and Lorenzo Jackson have each been arrested and charged with capital murder. [19]

Trafford

1. August 16: Steven Milton Blanks, 49, shot at the home of Tommy Joe Tyler at 1921 Gurley Lane near Locust Fork. Tyler's estranged wife, Jenifer, was also injured. Tyler told police the two had broken into his house. Investigators determined that Tyler had lured them into an ambush. He was arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder. [20]

Unincorporated Jefferson County

1. January 20: Theopolis Mack, 53, died at UAB Hopsital from a gunshot wound he suffered the previous evening. He was shot by an acquaintance who robbed him after buying drugs at an apartment on the 1900 block of Bond Circle Northeast. Dmitri Lamar Washington was charged with capital murder and surrendered to authorities in Clarksville, Tennessee on January 22. [21]
2. February 25: Seyamone Seneray Bester, 33, was found dead following a house fire on the 200 block of New Avenue in Muscoda. Medical examiners ruled his death a homicide after discovering gunshot wounds. [22]
3. March 2: Eric Moore, 23, died from injuries sustained while he was attempting a home invasion on the 900 block of Apple Street just off U.S. Highway 78. The shooter may have been targeted because he broke up a fight Moore had been involved in at the Platinum Club the night before. (map). The shooter's identity has not been released and the homicide is likely to be ruled justified. [23]
4. March 29: Sherry Faught McCombs, 44, a nurse at St Vincent's Hospital, was found beaten to death in her home on the 1200 block of Arkadelphia Road near Corner. Her son, Preston McCombs, was arrested and charged with capital murder on May 5. [24]
5. May 31: Tosha Dejarnette, 28, shot on the 1300 block of 5th Place Northwest in eastern Jefferson County. Thomas Baker, the victim's ex-boyfriend, was arrested that night and charged with murder. He claims he fired toward the house in self-defense after a brick was thrown at him. [25]
6. August 27: June Yates was found dead alongside her husband, Joseph Yates, inside their home on the 3900 block of Archer Road in the Mineral Springs community after a fire. Both had been shot, and a handgun was found next to Mr Yates' body, leading investigators to suspect a murder-suicide. [26]

Shelby County

Pelham

• July 27: Maria Garcia, 32, was found shot to death in a car on Stonehaven Trail just north of Buck Creek. A $5,000 reward for information has been offered by the Governor's office. [27]

Unincorporated Shelby County

1. August 20: Jaime Echeverria, 30, one of five men found with their throats slashed in a unit of Cahaba Lakes Apartments in the 3000 block of Buck Horn Cove (map). Rewards totalling $30,000 have been offered for information leading to convictions in the case. Alejandros Castaneda, Juan Fransisco Castaneda, Jaime Duenas Rodriguez and Christopher Scott Jones were arrested on August 25 and each was charged with two counts of capital murder. [28]
2. August 20: Armando Lopez, 20-30, another of the five men found at Cahaba Lakes Apartments.
3. August 20: Ezequiel Rebollar-Perrban, 23, another of the five men found at Cahaba Lakes Apartments.
4. August 20: Angel Horacio Vega-Gonzalez, 23, another of the five men found at Cahaba Lakes Apartments.
5. August 20: Unnamed male, another of the five men found at Cahaba Lakes Apartments.

St Clair County

Moody

• July 31: John Durden, 69, died of multiple stab wounds after he and his wife, Eva, were attacked at their home on Valley Bend Road. Jordan Tyler Durden, the couples' grandson, was identified by Mrs Durden as the attacker. He was arrested the following evening in Panama City, Florida after a vacationing Moody resident sighted the van he took. [29]