1980 Birmingham homicides

This is a List of Birmingham homicides in 1980. It includes homicide cases occuring within the city limits during the calendar year. Note that not all homicides are ultimately ruled to be murder in courts of law.

Birmingham had 88 homicides in 1980.

Listing

1. January 3: Edward Lomax, 31, was found stabbed to death outside Center Street Middle School, near his home in South Titusville. His girlfriend was sought in connection with the death.
2. January 8: Archie James Reese, 46, was shot to death at his home in the Loveman Village public housing community. Witnesses said he had been threatening his wife. She was sought for questioning. (report)
3. January 9: Glover Nolan Merriweather, 36, was shot to death on the porch of his home at 1615 20th Avenue North. His mother, Annie May Gray, who lived in the other side of the duplex, was arrested and charged. (report)
4. January 12: Mary Morrow, 25, was shot to death during an argument at a home at 1404 25th Street North. An unidentified man burst out of the house and confessed to passersby before driving away. (report)
5. January 12: Albert Blackmon was died from stab wounds suffered during an argument outside his home at 2505 5th Terrace North. Adrian Eugene Coleman was arrested and charged with murder. (report)
6. January 14: Lila Hodges, 65, was shot to death at her home at 14 41st Place North. Her nephew was subsequently killed by responding police. (report)
7. January 14: Louis Lee Showers, 35, Hodges' nephew and killer, was shot to death in an exchange of shots with police after being forced out with tear gas. (report)
8. January 17: Carrie Goodgame, 46, died from a gunshot wound to the face during an argument at a house at 2233 26th Avenue North in North Birmingham. Lee Hatch surrendered to police at the scene and confessed to the shooting. (report)
9. January 19: Ronald G. Sweatt, 22, was shot to death during an attempted robbery at knifepoint of a man in a car parked at the western end of the Birmingham Municipal Airport's east-west runway. The shooting was determined to be justified. (report)
10. February 2: Reugen Martin Jr, 24, was shot to death in the back of the head after an argument in an alley off the 7500 block of Georgia Road. A dark red Pontiac Firebird was seen leaving the scene. No arrest. (report)
11. February 23: Lois Chaney, 49, died from a stab wound to the chest at her home at 729 Alabama Avenue in Arlington-West End. Her husband, Leslie Chaney, was arrested nearby and charged with murder. (report)
12. March 10: Hubert Scott was found shot to death behind the wheel of his crashed car on the 1100 block of Avenue F Ensley. A shooting had been reported just prior at 513 6th Street Pratt in Central Pratt. Scott's wife and mother-in-law were taken into custody for questioning, but no charges were immediately filed. (report)
13. March 16: Charles "Mother Dear" Johnson, 51, was found dead beneath a set of outside steps behind a store at 211 6th Avenue South in South Titusville. Johnson was unhoused and known in the neighborhood. He died from a broken neck. (report)
14. March 21: David Harris was shot to death during an argument with a decorating contractor at his home at 1504 31st Street Ensley in Ensley Highlands. Walter Davis Benford was taken into custody. (report)
15. April 4: Cheryl Smith, 19, was shot to death in the back seat of a car as she prepared to go to class at Lawson State Community College with two classmates. Her ex-boyfriend, Reginald Miller, surrendered to police and was charged with murder. (report)
16. April 16: David Lee Jackson, 23, was shot to death at his apartment at 1636 18th Place North in Fountain Heights. His girlfriend Beverly K. Harris called the Birmingham Crisis Center to report her crime. She was arrested and charged. (report)
17. December 25: Edward Alley Jr, 34, a Birmingham Police Department patrolman, was shot while attempting to question two robbery suspects. Benny Ray Jones and Darryl Watkins were charged with the murder. (link)

References

• Birmingham News reports accessed at the microfilm room of the Birmingham Public Library

See also

• List of homicides in 1980