15-year-old charged in 3 Birmingham murders, suspected in 4th
By Carol Robinson | crobinson@al.com The Birmingham News
Birmingham, AL
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A 15-year-old boy is in custody charged in three homicides, and suspected in a fourth, police said today.
The juvenile's name has not been released. He is charged in the Oct. 23 slayings of Kenneth Davidson and Shundria Peoples, and in the Nov. 14 killing of Tramone Mitchell. Investigators are also looking into the possibility he is responsible for another killing in the city.
"It is a sad day when a 15-year-old commits this level of violence at such a young age,'' said Birmingham police spokesman Lt. Sean Edwards. "He has definitely distinguished himself as a killer."
The bodies of Davidson, 34, and Peoples, 26, were discovered about 3:30 a.m. on that Friday morning. The Birmingham Police Department's ShotSpotter system, which detects shots and triangulates gunfire, alerted police to the shooting. When officers arrived on the scene at Woodward Park, they found the pair in the front seat of the Ford Taurus, which was still running.
The victims were shot multiple times in their chests. Medics pronounced them dead on the scene at 4 a.m. Davidson was from Bessemer; Peoples from Birmingham.
In the second case – which just happened over the weekend - Mitchell was one of two men found shot inside a green 2006 BMW just before 6:30 p.m. Saturday outside an apartment complex near the intersection of Cotton Avenue Southwest and 13th Street.
Mitchell, a rapper also known as "Lil Mone," was found in the driver's seat with gunshot wounds to the face and the shoulder. He was pronounced dead on the scene. His passenger, whose name hasn't been released, was shot in the groin area and taken to UAB Hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Edwards said the surviving victim told investigators two men called him earlier about buying some marijuana. He set up the meeting between Mitchell and the two men. Once Mitchell arrived on the scene, the men opened fire and fled the scene.
In both cases, he said, detectives were able to locate key witnesses who were able to identify the teen as the shooter. Because the suspect is a juvenile, Edwards said, the facts and circumstances surrounding the case are confidential by law because they will be handled in Family Court.
"These cases really exemplify the challenges we face as a community. These homicides clearly showed a total disregard for human life and it's so sad that we're now arresting juveniles for the most heinous crimes,'' said Birmingham police Chief A.C. Roper. "We knew we would solve these cases but it's especially troubling that our suspects are getting younger."