MOBILE, Ala. (Wala) – Law enforcement officers arrested the accused on Friday shoot an innocent victim In case of mistaken identity.
DeAngelo Demetrius Merrill, 29, faces charges of murder, first-degree burglary and illegal possession of a pistol. Police allege he went to Pathway Apartment Homes on Florida Street on June 29 to avenge the shooting of his girlfriend on Williams Street but went to the wrong door.
Military veteran James Levon Jones, 74, who was on kidney dialysis, died of a bullet injury.
“In terms of the victim, Mr. Jones, he is really the victim in this case in every sense of the word. It was unfortunate for him and his family,” said Mobile Police Chief Paul Prine. “In reference to Mr. Merrill, it was (a) There was counter-firing, where he went to the wrong place and kicked in the wrong house. And it will not be tolerated.”
Finding Jones has been a top priority for Mobile Police. He was on the department’s “Most Wanted” list.
In Pritchard, Prine did not provide further details of the defendant’s apprehension. But he said it includes cyber technology and good policing by the US Marshals Service Task Force, his department’s Tactical Intelligence Unit, K-9 Unit and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Aviation Unit.
“It took a lot of effort on multiple jurisdictions and the help they gave us,” he said.
Jones’ death was the end of a cascade of events that began with a fight at the sister rap duo’s home in the 500 block of Williams Street, known as Fam0us Twinss. According to police accounts at the time, the woman’s father, James Walters, had an altercation with another man. Police say the man shot Walters in self-defense. A 23-year-old woman, who was Merrill’s girlfriend, died of an accidental shot by the police.
Police say Merrill, who was not present, heard about his girlfriend’s injury and then set out to take revenge. Which led to a fatal encounter with Jones.
A month before the shooting, according to court records, Merrill appeared before Mobile County Circuit Judge Ben Brooks for a probation revocation hearing relating to an arrest by Prichard police on drug charges. But when the arresting officer did not appear in court on May 12, Brooks case dismissed and put Meryl on probation again.
Five days after that hearing, Gloria was found drugged by mobile police after fleeing a traffic stop at the intersection of York Avenue and St. Stephens Road. Officers followed him through a wooded area and arrested him next to a house on Agate Street. According to a probation report, officers found about 19 grams of crack cocaine and $4,367.
When police were searching for a microphone attachment, one of which the officer had lost, they found a bag containing 55.6 grams of powdered cocaine and Merrill’s cell phone, the probate document said. According to court papers, the officers also found a gun.
Court records show that he admitted that he had been selling drugs for the past two years. “I’m thugs in the streets,” he told investigators, according to a probation report.
Shortly after his arrest on Friday, Merrill denied that he shot Jones and urged friends and relatives to deposit money into his prison account. From behind a squad car, he flashed an exaggerated smile at the reporters.
“I’m innocent, man,” he said. “I don’t know what they’re talking about. … Just tell everyone to hook me up, man. Keep in touch with me. All my friends.”
Prine sought to reassure the public near the end of the year, particularly violent in Port City.
“I will tell the citizens of Mobile, we have had a lot of incidents here in the last few weeks,” he said. “But I will also assure them that these are, for the most part, all known criminals of each other. We understand that mobile civilians can be victims in those scenarios. However, we work diligently to get ahead of this.” And hopefully over the next couple of weeks, you’re going to start seeing some drastic changes in how that looks.”
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