In the small city of Uniontown, Alabama, a young man's life was cut short in a violent encounter. On Saturday, June 14, 2025, 21-year-old Antonio Terrell Morgan, a male, was shot and killed outside an apartment building on Cobb Street. The Perry County Sheriff's Office and local investigators responded to the scene in the front yard of Apartment Building 26, where they found Morgan.
In a valiant effort to save him, a resident, Jamarus Allen, attempted to drive Morgan to Whitfield Regional Hospital as an ambulance was estimated to be 30 to 40 minutes away. Tragically, Allen's vehicle was involved in a crash en route.
The investigation into Morgan's death quickly focused on a suspect, 23-year-old Javontae Tykeem Smith of Greensboro. He was taken into custody for questioning in the days following the shooting. Authorities suggested the motive for the fatal shooting may have been a dispute over a mutual love interest.
By June 18, 2025, Javontae Tykeem Smith had been arrested and booked into the Perry County Jail. He was formally charged with one count of intentional murder and one count of reckless endangerment. The criminal complaint alleges that Smith fired multiple shots at Antonio Morgan, striking him in the chest. The reckless endangerment charge was added because other people, including a six-month-old baby, were nearby at the time of the shooting. Smith appeared in Perry County District Court on June 18 and had two attorneys appointed to him. He was held without bond as the case proceeded through the initial court stages.
In the wake of this tragedy, family and friends gathered to mourn the loss of Antonio Terrell Morgan. A public viewing was held on June 27, 2025, followed by a funeral service on June 28 at the First Missionary Baptist Church in Uniontown. His final resting place is at Hunter's Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Faunsdale.
