Crime
Teen Charged with Capital Murder in Fatal Shooting of Birmingham Engineering Student
Authorities have charged an 18-year-old Birmingham man in connection with the weekend shooting death of 22-year-old Xavier “Zay” Colvert, a mechanical engineering student.
Jeremy Dewayne Thomas has been formally charged with capital murder following an investigation that suggests Colvert was set up for a robbery.
Thomas was taken into custody on Thursday and booked into the Jefferson County Jail just before 5 p.m. He is being held without bond.
Birmingham police have not yet disclosed what specific evidence led them to identify Thomas as a suspect.
However, officers with the department’s Crime Reduction Team located him at a residence in west Birmingham.
Following a brief foot pursuit, they were able to apprehend him without further incident.
The fatal shooting occurred late Friday night in the 1400 block of 57th Street in Ensley.
Birmingham police responded to a report of gunfire at approximately 11:45 p.m.
Upon arrival, they found Colvert unresponsive inside his white pickup truck. At least six shell casings were discovered near the truck’s passenger door, indicating multiple shots were fired.
Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service arrived at the scene and pronounced Colvert dead at 12:38 a.m. Saturday.
Colvert was the son of former Jefferson County Constable Robert Colvert III, who was himself a victim of gun violence during a 2018 shootout at his body shop in Woodlawn.
The investigation into the shooting remains ongoing as authorities work to determine further details surrounding the incident.
Authorities have identified the man shot and killed Friday afternoon in a parking lot outside a Little Caesars restaurant in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood.
The victim has been named as Stevens Jeffrey, 29, according to police and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The shooting occurred in the 2600 block of West Cermak Road near Rockwell Street at approximately 1:10 p.m., according to the Chicago Police Department (CPD).
Preliminary reports indicate that Jeffrey was sitting in his vehicle when he was approached by an unknown vehicle.
An armed individual exited that vehicle and opened fire, striking Jeffrey multiple times in the face and body.
Emergency responders arrived on the scene, where Jeffrey was pronounced dead. He was discovered inside his vehicle with his two young children, ages 4 and 6, who were unharmed.
Both children were transported to Stroger Hospital for precautionary evaluation.
The shooting took place in the parking lot of a Little Caesars restaurant, where investigators recovered multiple shell casings and placed numerous evidence markers on the ground.
As of Friday evening, no suspects are in custody, and detectives from the CPD Area Four Homicide Unit are leading the investigation. Police have not released information on a possible motive.
Authorities are urging anyone with information about this homicide to contact Chicago Police or submit an anonymous tip at CPDTip.com.