Capital murder case moves to grand jury

The case against an Alabama man for capital murder is headed to a grand jury. On March 20, the judge in the case ruled that there was enough probable cause to send the case to a grand jury for indictment.

The charges stem from a Jan. 17 incident that started with two men getting into an altercation, but ended with another man being fatally shot. The accused in this case is suspected of being one of two men responsible for the shooting. The other man has also been charged with capital murder.

The altercation started earlier in the evening between the other accused man and another man. After the fight, one of the men retrieved his gun and went to the deceased’s apartment. The accused man who was involved in the fight reportedly showed up later and began firing into the apartment. The men in the apartment reportedly tried to fire back before escaping out the back door.

The man who lived in the apartment was found dead with a gunshot to his head. The accused in the preliminary hearing on March 20 faces two capital murder charges for his alleged role in the shooting. Police say that witnesses saw his car in the apartment parking lot, and that camera footage shows him in a nearby convenience store just after the shooting. They also say that his description of his whereabouts during the crime did not make sense given what they know about the crime.

The accused’s attorneys said in the hearing that there are no witnesses who actually saw the accused at the crime. That could be a point that is explored further in the trial. During a preliminary hearing, the judge is generally only interested in whether there is enough evidence to move forward. If there is, the judge is likely to advance the case to a grand jury regardless of any arguments made by the defense.

Source: al.com, “No proof suspect was at murder scene, attorneys say; capital murder case headed to grand jury“, Brian Lawson, March 20, 2014