On the evening of January 22, 2025, a 36-year-old male, Buford Troman 'Pete' White, was tragically shot and killed outside his home on Mountain Drive in Tarrant, a city in the Birmingham metropolitan area. He had just returned from picking up a pizza when he was gunned down in his own front yard. His mother and a female acquaintance, who were inside the residence, found him wounded and immediately called for help.
Despite their efforts, White was pronounced dead at the scene at 7:33 p.m., having sustained multiple gunshot wounds.
The investigation into the senseless act of violence led Tarrant police to identify two 19-year-old suspects: Eddie Jordan Jr. and Javaris Russell Jr. In April 2025, authorities announced that both individuals were wanted on capital murder warrants. The case took a dramatic turn when U.S. Marshals captured Eddie Jordan Jr. after a brief chase. However, just hours after his apprehension, Jordan managed to escape from police custody while being held at UAB Hospital. This development caused further distress to White's grieving family, who expressed their devastation and fear for the community with a dangerous suspect at large.
Further investigation revealed that Jordan was also a suspect in a separate homicide that occurred just days after White's murder. In late April 2025, U.S. Marshals successfully apprehended the second suspect, Javaris Russell Jr., who was taken into custody without incident. While Russell was in custody, the manhunt for the escaped Eddie Jordan Jr. continued, with law enforcement agencies urging the public to provide any information that could lead to his recapture.
