On an autumn afternoon in Huntsville, Alabama, a dispute between several individuals escalated to a fatal conclusion. On October 12, 2017, 21-year-old Demarius Roger Smith was a passenger in a vehicle traveling on Greenhill Drive. Suddenly, the vehicle was targeted by gunfire, and a single bullet struck Smith. He was rushed to Huntsville Hospital, but succumbed to his injuries a short time later.
The investigation into the shooting quickly pointed to an ongoing conflict as the motive.
The day after the incident, Huntsville Police Department's Major Crimes Investigators arrested a 17-year-old from Huntsville in connection with the killing. The suspect, Alvontae Morgan, was initially charged with capital murder.
In July 2019, ahead of his scheduled capital murder trial, Alvontae Morgan, then 19, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter. He admitted to firing a gun into the car Smith was in during an argument with another person in the vehicle, which resulted in the unintentional death of Smith. As a result of his guilty plea, Morgan was sentenced to a 15-year split sentence.
