On the night of March 22, 2024, a burst of gunfire in the driveway of a home on Lundy Lane in Mobile, Alabama, ended one life and forever altered another. Police officers responded to a call in the 9000 block of the street at approximately 11:02 p.m. and found two people with gunshot wounds. Both were transported to a local hospital, where Cory Evans, a 47-year-old Black man, succumbed to his injuries.
A female victim who was with him was severely injured but survived.
The investigation quickly led police to Alfred Johnson, then 67, who was identified as the shooter. Authorities reported that Johnson fled the scene after the shooting in an attempt to hide the weapon but was apprehended when he returned. He was arrested the following day and charged with murder and attempted murder. The crime was especially confounding because, as was later revealed, the families of the victims and the defendant had known one another for years. Cory Evans’ mother, Sharon Pope, shared that her own parents had been friends with Johnson’s parents, making the violence all the more heartbreaking.
As the investigation progressed, a second person was implicated. In September 2024, a Mobile County grand jury returned an indictment for Sharon Vallare, 62. She was arrested in early October and charged as a co-defendant with murder and attempted murder.
In September 2025, Alfred Johnson’s case went to trial. His attorneys argued that he had acted in self-defense and in defense of others, but the jury rejected these claims. After hearing the evidence, the jury found Johnson guilty of the murder of Cory Evans and the attempted murder of the female victim.
At Johnson’s sentencing hearing in November 2025, Mobile County Circuit Judge Michael Windom struggled to understand the motive behind the attack, given the long-standing family connections. "Why did you do it? Why?" the judge asked Johnson directly. Johnson, then 69, did not offer an explanation, saying only, "I hate that it happened. I’m going to go to jail. … I ask for forgiveness." Judge Windom sentenced him to two concurrent life sentences, with the possibility of parole consideration after 15 years. As of late 2025, co-defendant Sharon Vallare was awaiting her trial, which was scheduled to begin in December.
