In the early hours of a Sunday morning in Birmingham, Alabama, a burst of gunfire shattered the peace and irrevocably altered the lives of many. On March 10, 2019, 28-year-old Gregory Monte Snodgress was found fatally wounded in the 1700 block of Montevallo Road Southwest. The call reporting a person down came in at approximately 12:05 a.m., and when officers from the West Precinct arrived, they discovered Snodgress lying unresponsive in the roadway, a victim of an apparent gunshot wound.
Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service pronounced him dead at the scene.
The initial investigation into the death of the young man, who was known to his loved ones as 'Pezzy,' was classified as an unclassified death investigation pending an autopsy. The following day, the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office officially ruled Snodgress's death a homicide, confirming the tragic nature of his passing. This confirmation spurred the Birmingham Police Department to intensify their search for those responsible.
A significant breakthrough in the case came just two days after the fatal shooting. On Tuesday, March 12, 2019, Birmingham police announced the arrest of a suspect in connection with not only the death of Gregory Snodgress but also another shooting that occurred on the same morning. Cortey Slay, a 21-year-old, was taken into custody and subsequently charged with capital murder in the death of Snodgress.
Further details from the investigation revealed that the shooting on Montevallo Road was preceded by another incident. Investigators believe Slay was also responsible for a non-fatal shooting of a woman that took place in the 900 block of 46th Street North just half an hour before Snodgress was killed. Evidence collected from both scenes linked Slay to the crimes. The investigation suggested that robbery was the motive in the homicide of Gregory Snodgress. Following his arrest, Cortey Slay was held in the Jefferson County Jail without bond.
