In the late hours of a summer evening in Birmingham, Alabama, a dispute between two individuals would end in tragedy, leaving one man dead and a woman facing a murder charge. On July 13, 2023, 33-year-old Nicholas Marquis Johnson, a Black/African American male from Bessemer, was with an acquaintance, 31-year-old Jameria Henley. The two were at the Vines at Hillside West Apartment Complex on Monte Sano Road when an argument broke out between them in the parking lot.
The disagreement
escalated, and gunfire erupted around 9:20 p.m. When West Precinct officers arrived at the scene, they discovered Nicholas Marquis Johnson inside a vehicle, unresponsive and suffering from a gunshot wound. He was rushed to UAB Hospital for medical attention but unfortunately succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased. The death of Johnson marked the city's 67th homicide investigation of 2023.
Following an investigation into the shooting, authorities determined that Johnson and Henley were allegedly in the process of committing a burglary at one of the apartments when the fatal argument occurred. Investigators concluded that during the dispute, Henley fired the shots that struck and killed Johnson. Subsequently, Jameria Henley was taken into custody and charged with murder under the Felony Murder Rule. She was booked into the Jefferson County Jail and held without bond. Funeral services for Nicholas Marquis Johnson were held on July 22, 2023, at Antioch Baptist Church in Bessemer, with his interment at Cedar Hill Cemetery.
