On the afternoon of September 9, 2024, the workday calm was shattered by gunfire in the parking lot of Engineered Plastics Components Inc. on Greenwood Parkway in Bessemer, Alabama. James Sencer Bowen Jr., a 21-year-old Black man from Birmingham, was found with gunshot wounds around 3:45 p.m. He was rushed to UAB Hospital, but he was pronounced dead at 4:42 p.m.
The shooter fled the scene in a vehicle, leaving Bessemer police to begin a homicide investigation.
Detectives with the Bessemer Police Department immediately began canvassing surrounding businesses for surveillance footage, stating they were confident that the video they located would aid their investigation. Authorities assured the public that they believed the shooting was an isolated incident and that there was no broader threat. As the investigation continued, police asked anyone with information to contact them or to submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers.
The case saw its first major development eight months later. On May 5, 2025, authorities arrested 21-year-old Cameron Dermell Smoot of Birmingham and charged him with conspiracy to commit murder in Bowen's death. Smoot was released from jail later that month on a $60,000 bond, and his case was sent to a grand jury for consideration. The following day, May 6, detectives secured a murder warrant for a second suspect, Timothy O'Neal Lacey Jr., also 21.
Lacey remained at large for another six months. On November 8, 2025, he was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshal's Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force. He was booked into the Jefferson County Jail and formally charged with murder. A motive for the killing has not been released. As of November 2025, the cases against both men were proceeding through the legal system.
