Kimberly Robles, a 21-year-old Black woman, was a young mother living in Chickasaw, Alabama, a city near Mobile. On the night of Thursday, November 17, 2022, she was inside a home on Third Avenue with her boyfriend and several other people when the sound of gunfire erupted outside.
A dark-colored sedan carrying two men had pulled up to the residence. The men opened fire on the house before speeding away. Kimberly was struck by multiple bullets.
Though others were present in the home, no one else was injured in the attack. Emergency services responded, but Kimberly was pronounced dead at the scene. She left behind a young daughter, and her family later started a GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses.
The Chickasaw Police Department, with assistance from the Mobile County Sheriff's Office, launched an investigation into what they described as an apparent drive-by shooting. Investigators obtained video footage of the suspects' vehicle and worked to enhance the images. Police Chief Keith Miller stated that while it was initially unclear if the shooting was random, he believed the suspects had intentionally approached the house. He also said the motive was thought to be an attempted robbery. A man who was inside the home during the shooting was detained for questioning and later arrested on an outstanding probation revocation warrant, but he was not considered a suspect in Kimberly’s death.
On Monday, November 21, 2022, authorities made an arrest in the case. Police in west Mobile took 21-year-old Cayenne Horachio Tate into custody and charged him with murder. According to the police chief, Tate was one of the two men in the car on the night of the shooting.
Cayenne Tate was later indicted on the murder charge. Prosecutors alleged that he fired at Kimberly Robles multiple times. Tate pleaded not guilty to the charge. As of May 2024, the case was moving through the court system, with a judge scheduling a status hearing for August 27, 2024.
