In the late afternoon of a Friday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the life of 19-year-old Shania Robinson was tragically cut short. On November 19, 2021, she was found unresponsive in the driver's seat of a car in the 4000 block of 21st Street, the victim of a fatal gunshot wound. First responders arrived at the scene around 4 p.m., but their efforts to save the young woman were in vain.
Investigators with the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit soon pieced together the events that led to the
senseless killing. It was determined that Robinson was an unwitting victim in a planned armed robbery that went awry. Two men, 18-year-old Deramus Devalle Harris Jr. and Jerrell Brown, were in the backseat of her vehicle to conduct a prearranged sale of a handgun to another individual.
According to court documents, after the buyer handed over money for the weapon, Harris attempted to take the money back while also forcefully regaining possession of the gun. A struggle for the firearm ensued between the buyer and Harris. During the chaotic altercation, Brown allegedly tried to assist Harris in overpowering the buyer. As the fight over the weapon escalated, a single shot was fired inside the car, striking Shania Robinson. The intended victim of the robbery reported that after the shot, the vehicle drove off with Harris and Brown inside, but not before he saw the gun being thrown from the back seat onto the roadway. A witness later confirmed seeing Harris and Brown in the vehicle as it left the scene.
In the days that followed, the investigation led to the arrests of the two men involved. Deramus Devalle Harris Jr. was the first to be taken into custody and was charged with murder and second-degree robbery. Subsequently, Jerrell Brown was also apprehended and faced charges of murder and second-degree robbery, in addition to other unrelated offenses. At the time of the incident, Harris was already out on bond for a previous murder charge from a 2020 shooting.
