In the afternoon hours of a Tuesday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a dispute escalated into gunfire, leaving a young man's life cut short. Twenty-two-year-old Darrieon Dewayne Dees, a male, was fatally wounded on February 18, 2020, in a shootout that erupted on 24th Street. The incident was not a random act of violence but the culmination of a pre-existing conflict.
According to investigators, Dees was with 16-year-old Deramus Devalle Harris Jr. when they encountered a group of other young men.
An ongoing feud between Harris and at least one individual in the other group is believed to have been the catalyst for the deadly confrontation. It is alleged that Dees and Harris, upon seeing the others, stopped their car and exited the vehicle armed with pistols. They reportedly began firing at the group, and at least two of the individuals on the receiving end were also armed and returned fire. In the exchange of bullets, Dees was struck and killed.
In the wake of the shooting, the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit launched an investigation that led to the arrest of Deramus Devalle Harris Jr. Investigators determined that Harris was the primary instigator of the violence that led to his companion's death. Consequently, Harris was charged as an adult with one count of murder for the death of Darrieon Dees and three counts of attempted murder for firing at the other three juveniles. The other individuals who returned fire were deemed to have been acting in self-defense and did not face charges related to the homicide. Two of them, however, were charged with illegal possession of a pistol. Harris was subsequently booked into the Tuscaloosa County Jail.
While out on bond awaiting trial for the death of Darrieon Dees, Deramus Devalle Harris Jr. was arrested and charged in connection with another homicide in November 2021. The outcome of the murder charge against Harris for the death of Darrieon Dees has not been publicly reported.
