In the early morning hours of November 25, 2022, a holiday pass from a work-release program took a fatal turn for Lashawn Poke, a 41-year-old Black male. Poke was visiting a woman at her home near Taylor, Alabama, a small town on the outskirts of Dothan. The situation escalated dramatically around 3:30 a.m. with the arrival of the woman's estranged husband, 35-year-old Brent Guilford.
An altercation broke out between the two men, tragically ending when Guilford allegedly shot and killed Poke.
Authorities were called to the scene, and by 5 a.m., Brent Guilford had surrendered to the Houston County Sheriff's Office. He was taken into custody without incident and subsequently charged with capital murder. Following his arrest, Guilford was held in the Houston County Jail without bond. Court records that emerged after the shooting revealed a history of domestic turmoil, as Guilford's wife had filed for a protection from abuse order against him just weeks before the fatal encounter.
At the time of his death, Lashawn Poke had been an inmate at the Houston County Community Corrections, serving a sentence for promoting prison contraband. He was also facing a pending charge for domestic violence-strangulation. According to the corrections director, Poke was nearing the end of his sentence and was scheduled for release on December 13, 2022, making the circumstances of his death all the more tragic. The case highlights the volatile nature of domestic disputes and the unforeseen consequences that can arise from them.
