Joel Austin Whitus, a 42-year-old White/Caucasian male, died after a confrontation at a gas station in Elmore County on Friday night, February 13, 2026. The shooting happened shortly after 10 p.m. at a Marathon station on Highway 111 in the Slapout community, a location known locally as The Girl’s Store. Contemporary news coverage identified Whitus as being from Millbrook, while his obituary described him as a resident of Deatsville.
The circumstances surrounding his death, however, centered on the Slapout parking lot, where two vehicles happened to be parked beside one another and a seemingly minor encounter quickly turned deadly.
Whitus had been in one vehicle with two friends, while Aaron Mays of Eclectic was a passenger in the neighboring vehicle with his girlfriend. According to Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin, Whitus got out and walked toward the store. Mays later claimed that Whitus struck or touched the vehicle with his hand as he passed it. When Whitus came back outside, Mays confronted him about the alleged contact with the car. Whitus reportedly indicated that he did not know what Mays was talking about. During the argument, Mays said he noticed a handgun in Whitus’ waistband and believed he was in danger. Mays then fired, striking Whitus in the chest.
The shooting brought immediate chaos to the parking lot. Mays and his girlfriend drove away after the gunfire, but they returned a short time later. Meanwhile, people at the store attempted to save Whitus, and bystanders were administering first aid when deputies and emergency responders arrived. Whitus did not survive. Investigators subsequently recovered a 9mm handgun that had remained in a concealed holster on Whitus’ waist. His body was taken to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, where an autopsy determined that the fatal injury was a single gunshot wound to the chest.
Court filings released several days later provided additional details about what happened when Mays returned. According to those records, Mays came back to the scene and attempted to approach the area while officers were already there. He then acknowledged to an officer that he had shot Whitus. Officers detained Mays and his girlfriend, and investigators recovered another 9mm handgun from the back seat of the vehicle associated with Mays. While being transported for questioning, Mays reportedly made unsolicited statements indicating concern that leaving the scene might make the situation look worse and saying that he had been scared because he believed Whitus was trying to hit his car. Those statements, together with his admission that he fired the fatal shot, became part of the evidence described in the court filings.
Mays was arrested and charged with murder. Although he admitted firing the shot, the account attributed to him raised a self-defense argument: he maintained that seeing the handgun on Whitus during the confrontation made him feel threatened. Investigators continued examining surveillance footage from the gas station as they worked to establish exactly how the encounter unfolded. Early reporting said the case was expected to be presented to a grand jury and that a bond hearing was anticipated. No other person was publicly reported as having been charged in connection with the killing.
The sudden death left Whitus’ family struggling with what had begun as an otherwise ordinary night. Lisa Whitus told reporters that the news was especially devastating for their daughters and remembered Joel as bright, funny and someone who loved making other people laugh. His obituary listed a large surviving family that included his parents, grandmother, fiancé, three daughters, a son, a sister and a brother. Funeral services were held on February 21 at First Pentecostal Church in Prattville.
Mays remained jailed without bond in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, and that custody status continued months later. As of August 19, 2026, the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office inmate roster still lists Mays under booking number 43764, with a booking date of February 14, a murder charge and a listed bond of $0.00. The sheriff’s office cautions that charges and bond information can change following court proceedings. No reliable online reporting located through that date showed that the case had proceeded to a completed trial, conviction or sentencing, leaving the murder prosecution pending while Mays remained listed in Elmore County custody.
