In the late evening of August 20, 2019, the Southtown Court housing community in Birmingham, Alabama, became the scene of a fatal shooting. Responding to reports of gunfire in the 900 block of 24th Street South at approximately 9:30 p.m., Birmingham Police officers discovered the body of 44-year-old Johnny Wayne Mann. A Black male, he was found unresponsive at the rear of an apartment complex, having sustained a mortal gunshot wound.
Emergency medical personnel arrived at the location and pronounced him dead.
The initial investigation into the homicide quickly pointed detectives toward a potential suspect. Within days of the incident, authorities identified 28-year-old Cordarius Quartez Williams as a person of interest in Mann's death. At the time he was identified, Williams was already incarcerated at the Jefferson County Jail on charges unrelated to the shooting. Investigators proceeded to secure a murder warrant against him while he remained in custody.
Further police work uncovered the involvement of a second individual in the crime. Anthony Donnel Needham was subsequently identified and arrested in connection with the killing of Johnny Wayne Mann. Both Williams and Needham were later indicted by a grand jury on the charge of capital murder. According to the indictment, the two men were accused of shooting and killing Mann during the commission of a robbery. As of early 2020, both suspects were being held in the Jefferson County Jail as they awaited further legal proceedings.
