2002 Birmingham homicides

This is a List of Birmingham homicides in 2002. 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 71 homicides in 2002 (down from 80 in 2001 and from a record of 141 in 1992.)

Listing by date

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• February 25: Tonjaneka Jones, 26, was shot to death along with a friend at a home on the 900 block of 4th Street North, two days before she was to testify in an attempted murder case. Lorenzo Reese, the defendant in that case, was charged with capital murder, pleaded guilty to felony murder and to the previous attempted murder, and was sentenced to life without parole.
• February 25: Carl Robinson, 49, was killed along with Jones.
• March 10: Kristal Blackmon was killed and Frederick Brown, Jr wounded in a shooting from a second car which followed them from the 1700 block of 1st Avenue North to the 2100 block of 2nd Avenue South. Mallory Wane Franks, Jr, Rodriguez Battle and Eric Van Cooper pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder. Franks was own probation, having pleaded to manslaughter in the death of his father in 2000.
• March 22: April Jamerson, 15, a majorette at Ensley High School, was shot to death in the parking lot of Bessie Estelle Park during "Senior Skip Day". Deandre Stewart pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 25 years.
• March: Ashley Mosely, 11, died after being hit in the head by one of dozens of bullets fired from a neighbor's house. James Rawls was charged with capital murder.
• April 1: Darrell Studmire, a supervisor at Birmingham City Jail, was found dead in his bedroom on Southside after not showing up for work. No signs of forced entry were found, but his car was missing. No arrest.
• April 2: Daryl Vernell Thomas, 42, was shot to death at his home on the 200 block of 19th Street Southwest in retaliation for having sold a car that later broke down. Michael Dawson, the shooter, pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder. Jedediah Davis, the buyer, was convicted at trial on the same charges and sentenced to two consecutive life terms.
• July 8: Charles Smith, Jr, was killed on Tuscaloosa Avenue. Reginald Carl Alford and Kenneth D. Williams both pleaded guilty. Alford was sentenced to 25 years for felony murder and Williams was sentenced to 15 years with a minimum of 2 served.
• July 17: Fonya Knox was found shot in a burned vehicle on the 4000 block of Trax Drive. The case is unsolved. A $5,000 reward has been offered by the Governor's office for information.
• July 24: Adrian Williams, 23, was shot to death by William McCloud, then on probation from a 1996 robbery conviction. Williams pleaded guilty to felony murder and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
• August 5: Melvin Jerome Siglar, 23, and wearing a bulletproof vest, was killed by a shot to the head on a gun battle in West End. No arrest.
• August 5: Jabon Eric Montrey Brown, 25, was found shot to death in his pickup truck after a gun battle in West End. No arrest.
• October 12: Jackie Jackson, Jr was shot do death in a dispute over stolen money at the Hospitality Inn on the 2100 block of 7th Avenue South. Larry Rashad Smith pleaded guilty to felony murder and was sentenced to 27.5 years in prison.
• November: Joseph Jerome Daniels, an off-duty Birmingham Police officer was shot during a robbery at a restaurant on Graymont Avenue.
• December 3: Christian Hill was shot during an attempted drug transaction. Darryl Hardy, Reginald Washington and Koran Jones were charged with capital murder. Washington pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life. Hardy was convicted of felony murder. Jones was acquitted, but did plead guilty to an unrelated robbery.
• December 6: William Layton, 26, was shot to death at the Magic City II Club. James Harris was charged with murder and turned himself in to police.
• December 18: Reginald Moore, 24, was killed in a gun battle between cars on Arkadelphia Road. Tshombe Omari Allen was charged with murder, but the charge was dismissed due to conflicting evidence.

See also

• List of homicides in 2002
• Bobby Frank Cherry, convicted in 2002 on four counts of murder in the 1963 bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church.

References

• Birmingham News Digital Archives [1]
• Robinson, Carol (January 1, 2003) "Area homicides down to 109 from 2001's 121." Birmingham News
• Archibald, John (October 28, 2003) "Metro area reports drop in crime." Birmingham News
• Gary, Jeremy (July 29, 2008) "Gov. Riley offers rewards in 5 homicides and a missing persons case." Birmingham News'