In the early morning hours of September 23, 2017, the life of 22-year-old Dre'van LaQuez Jones, a Black male, was cut short in Birmingham, Alabama. Jones was discovered inside a white pickup truck in the 100 block of 9th Avenue West, having sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Despite the efforts of emergency responders, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Birmingham Police Department quickly launched a homicide investigation into the fatal shooting.
The investigation led authorities to 23-year-old Tramichael James Hrabowski. Evidence suggested that Jones and Hrabowski had been together at a club called Side Effects on the city's north side earlier that night. They reportedly left the club together in the pickup truck driven by Jones. A witness in the vicinity of the 3000 block of 44th Avenue North reported hearing gunshots and seeing a man in a light-colored shirt shoot another man who was lying next to a pickup truck before robbing him. Hrabowski turned himself in to the police the day after the shooting and was subsequently charged with capital murder.
The case against Tramichael James Hrabowski proceeded to trial in October 2019. The prosecution, led by Assistant District Attorneys Riggs Walker and Ellie Friedman, presented their case before Circuit Judge Clyde Jones. Hrabowski was represented by attorney Emory Anthony. After the trial, the jury deliberated for less than an hour before returning a verdict of not guilty. Following his acquittal on October 3, 2019, Hrabowski was released from the Jefferson County Jail. To date, no further arrests have been made in connection with the death of Drevan Laquez Jones.
