Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond says arrests could be made in many of the homicides that recently occurred in the city if witnesses came forward.
There would be fewer homicides to investigate if fewer people were “doing things they shouldn’t be doing,” the chief said at a Wednesday morning press conference.
“These were people engaged in nefarious activities, doing things they shouldn’t be doing that cost them their lives,’’ he said.
“I’m sorry that they lost their lives, I’m sorry to the families that are grieving, but these could have been prevented.”
Police are working diligently, he said, to address the homicides.
“We continue to have very little witness cooperation in many of these cases,” Thurmond said. “That’s probably the biggest factor that’s prohibiting us from solving the majority of these cases.”
In cases in March where there were arrests, people came forward to provide information, Thurmond said.
“The silence that occurs in this city is unacceptable and it’s preventing this city from being safer and it’s continuing to allow the violence to continue,” Thurmond said.
There were seven homicides in Birmingham between Saturday and Tuesday, and 12 over an 11-day stretch. In March 2023, there were 12 homicides over the course of the entire month.
No arrests have been announced in the majority of the 13 homicides thus far in March.
Here’s a look at those killed so far this March:
Phong “Timmy” Nguyen, 21, was shot to death March 3 at an Airbnb in Birmingham’s Pratt City community.
West Precinct officers were dispatched at 2:35 a.m. that Sunday to a report of a person shot in the 900 block of Dugan Avenue.
Police entered the house and found Nguyen dead inside. There was a party or gathering being held there when someone fired shots.
Thurmond said the party location was shared with multiple people and strangers showed up. An altercation ensued. He said marijuana was found inside the Airbnb.
No arrests have been announced.
Roderick Walker, 47, was killed March 8.
Authorities said the shooting happened at 12:42 a.m. that Friday in the 4200 block of Avenue U.
Walker was taken to UAB Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 3:20 a.m.
“Walker was known to sell drugs,’' Thurmond said. “Some acquaintances came to this location and an argument ensued.”
No arrests have been announced.
Lamar King, 41, died March 9 when he was dropped with a gunshot wound at Princeton Baptist Medical Center.
West Precinct officers were dispatched at 2:20 a.m. that Saturday to Princeton Baptist Medical Center. Hospital staff told police someone dropped King off.
Investigators determined King was inside a vehicle when he was shot in the 1900 Block of 13th Way S.W..
A suspect has been charged with capital murder. The chief said the suspect has also previously been charged with murder.
Derrick Devell Keith II, 30, was fatally shot March 10 at Madison Park apartments.
Police said the shooting happened that Sunday morning when Keith and the suspect involved in a verbal dispute inside one of the units. Shots were then fired, hitting the victim.
Thurmond said the shooting was domestic in nature.
A suspect was taken into custody, but no formal charges have yet been announced. The suspect is cooperating, the chief said.
Jerry Edward Lewis, 43, was gunned down March 11 when a masked gunman opened fire on a small group of people standing in field in a southwest Birmingham neighborhood.
The shots rang out just before 5 p.m. that Monday in the 100 block of First Avenue S.W. in the Titusville community.
Lewis was talking with other people when the shooter, wearing a ski mask, approached them on foot and fired multiple shots.
Thurmond said Lewis “was most likely” at that location to buy drugs.
“Detectives believe the location was targeted by the suspects due to the narcotics sales at this location,’' Thurmond said.
No arrests have been announced.
Willie Carr, 56, was killed March 13 during a family barbecue.
The gathering was taking place that Wednesday night at a home in the 1100 block of Cotton Avenue S.W.
Investigators believe the family dinner was taking place when the shooter became angry and started firing shots at the victim.
The two were not related. The nature of the dispute has not yet been made public.
The suspect, who lived at the home, was later captured in a stolen food truck in Chilton County.
“Witnesses cooperated and gave information which ultimately led to (the suspect’s) arrest,’' the chief said.
Keenetheen Royall, 24, was shot to death March 16 in a west Birmingham neighborhood.
West Precinct officers were dispatched shortly after 2 p.m. Saturday to the 1200 block of Fourth Avenue West in Birmingham’s Bush Hills community.
The city’s gunfire detection system - Shot Spotter - registered 15 to 20 rounds in the 1200 block. Witnesses reported hearing the gunfire and said it appears a Glock switch was used, which police said is consistent with what they heard.
No arrests have been made.
Maleak Chandler, 21, was found slain March 16 on an east Birmingham road.
His family had been searching for him all day Sunday, unaware that he had been killed the night before.
Chandler’s body was discovered when Birmingham police about 11:15 p.m. Saturday started receiving calls of shots fired of 8200 block of Vassar Avenue.
Chandler was found dead in the roadway. Investigators marked roughly a dozen shell cases.
“Chandler was a suspect in a 2023 homicide that our detectives are currently working,’' Thurmond said. “At the time of his death, he was in a stolen vehicle, dressed in all black and wearing a ski mask.”
“He was lured by some of his ‘friends’ to go with him to shoot up a house and was killed by his ‘friends’ because they wanted his gun.”
No arrests have been made.
Kartece Perkins and Leon Wyatt Jr., both 24, were shot to death March 17.
Shortly after 6 a.m. Sunday, the city’s West Precinct officers received a Shot Spotter alert in the 3400 block of Boise Avenue, in Birmingham’s Green Acres community.
Thurmond said an altercation had occurred earlier at a Birmingham nightclub and this resulted in a meet-up with some of those individuals involved in that altercation.
A shootout ensued where 75 rounds were fired from multiple guns.
Several homes were damaged by the gunfire.
No arrests have been announced.
Eliazin Dominguez-Solis, 37, was found fatally shot March 17 outside a small business off Bessemer Super Highway.
A passerby made the discovery shortly after 10 a.m. Sunday at 6233 Blocton Ave., an area in Birmingham near Bessemer, Brighton, Midfield and Lipscomb.
Police received a call of a person down outside an unlicensed nightclub.
“The victim had a significant amount of narcotics on his person when he was killed,’' the chief said.
No arrests have been made.
Jonathan O’Dell Thomas, 27, was gunned down Monday afternoon, March 18, in Ensley.
West Precinct officers were dispatched on a ShotSpotter alert —indicating that shots had been fired — in the 1600 block of 27th Street Ensley around 5:20 p.m.
Thomas was on house arrest but had cut off his ankle monitor and left home, Thurmond said.
“He was found with a rifle in his pants at the time he was killed,’' he said.
No arrests have been announced.
Byron McNeal Jr., 28, was shot to death Tuesday afternoon.
Birmingham 911 received a call just before 4 p.m. that someone had been shot near the intersection of Second Street North and Sixth Avenue North.
“He was shot and killed by a lifelong friend due to an argument,’' Thurmond said. “This was the second argument the victim and suspect had had on this day at the same location.”
“I would like to commend the suspect’s family for cooperating and bringing the suspect in to police,’' he said.
The suspect is being held in the Birmingham City Jail on a 48-hour hold for capital murder.
As of Tuesday, Birmingham had 31 homicides thus far in 2024. That’s up from 17 as of March 19, 2023. Detectives in 2024 investigated six slayings in January, 12 in February, and 13 so far in March.
Thurmond said detectives continue to have very little cooperation from witnesses.
Thurmond referred to the recent killing of 20-year-old Mahogany Jackson, who was kidnapped, tortured and shot in the head, saying witness cooperation led to the eight suspects quickly being charged.
For those who don’t want to be witnesses, the chief encouraged them to join Connect Birmingham, a program that allows police access to residents’ and business owners’ outdoor security cameras.
Thurmond said people, places and behaviors continues to play a major role in someone becoming a homicide victim.
“That’s why I highlighted some of the cases I went over earlier,’' he said. “The locations, the times of day, the things that some of these individuals were involved in ultimately led to their death.”
“Had those people not been involved in some of those activities,’' he said, “they most likely would be alive today.”
“When people see the news stories, they think, ‘if I come to Birmingham, I’m going to be killed,’'’ he said. “I can sit here and tell you that after almost 26 years in this police department, that is not the case.”
“Almost every one of these people were killed by someone they knew,’' he said. “These were not stranger homicides. There’s not a serial killer running around Birmingham.”
Thurmond also talked about the lack of conflict resolution, evident by the number of friends or acquaintances named as suspects.
“I don’t know about you, but those are the kind of friends I don’t want to be around,’' Thurmond said.
“There was an old saying, ‘live by the sword, die by the sword,’'’ he said. “I think the saying now is ‘live by the gun, die by the gun.’'’
“Everybody seems have a firearm and think that’s how we solve our issues today,’' he said.
There’s a small number of people wreaking havoc on the city, he said.
“I’m here to tell you that the Birmingham Police Department and the City of Birmingham will do everything in its power to work with our state and federal partners to combat this situation,’' he said.
Thurmond addressed some of the things officers are doing.
At the time of Tuesday’s deadly shooting, narcotics officers were conducting an operation about a block away. That allowed them to quickly identify witnesses and make an arrest.
“When you say, ‘Where are the police?’ The police were there,’' he said.
A number of teams are working the streets daily, in addition to the men and woman patrolling every day.
“We continue to work hard,’' he said, “but the foolishness that continues to take place in our city is just absolutely ridiculous.”
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