Arkia “Kia” Berry was a 28-year-old Black woman from Center Point, Alabama, described by her cousin as a loving mother who adored her son. On the early evening of July 13, 2024, she, her five-year-old son, Landyn Brooks, and her 28-year-old boyfriend, Eric Ashley Jr., were killed in a targeted shooting in Birmingham. Police were called to the 1700 block of Indian Summer Drive in the Echo Highlands neighborhood around 5:20 p.m. for what was reported as a car accident.
Officers arrived to find a blue sedan in the front yard of a home, its exterior riddled with bullets. Inside, they discovered the bodies of Berry, Brooks, and Ashley, all of whom had been fatally shot.
The preliminary investigation suggested that the shooting took place near the entrance to Echo Highlands Park. Authorities believe that after the occupants of the car were shot, the driver continued for a short distance before crashing into the yard. Investigators recovered between 20 and 30 shell casings from the pavement, indicating the intensity of the attack. A critical piece of evidence emerged from Berry’s phone. Just moments before her death, she sent a text message to a friend containing a single word: “Jaco.”
Authorities believed “Jaco” was the nickname for 25-year-old Jacorrian McGregor. The investigation uncovered more evidence pointing toward him. Surveillance footage from a nearby home showed a green Kia Soul entering the neighborhood at 5:07 p.m., just a minute before the victims’ car arrived. At 5:09 p.m., Berry sent her text. One minute later, the Kia Soul was captured on video speeding away from the area. The following day, the same Kia Soul was found burned.
During a preliminary hearing, a detective testified that text messages between Eric Ashley Jr. and McGregor showed they had arranged to meet that day. On February 24, 2025, a joint task force including Birmingham Police and the U.S. Marshals Service arrested McGregor. He was subsequently charged with capital murder. Though his defense attorney argued the evidence was circumstantial, a judge found there was probable cause to send the case to a grand jury for consideration.
On August 7, 2026, a Jefferson County grand jury formally indicted Jacorrian McGregor on three counts of capital murder in the deaths of Arkia Berry, Landyn Brooks, and Eric Ashley Jr. As of that indictment in August 2026, McGregor remains in the custody of the Jefferson County Jail without bond, awaiting trial.
