In the late hours of a summer night in Birmingham, Alabama, the life of 17-year-old Ralph 'Lil Ralph' Tinsley Woodfin III was cut short. On August 11, 2017, the male teenager was fatally shot in Tarrant during a dispute involving guns. The incident that led to his death was described by authorities as stemming from an alleged robbery attempt. Woodfin was the nephew of Birmingham's then-mayoral candidate, Randall Woodfin.
Following an investigation into the shooting, police arrested
Daniel Jelks, a local rapper known as 'Two Gunz Vito'. Jelks claimed that he shot Woodfin in self-defense during a robbery attempt by the teenager. Investigators, however, contended that the shooting was the result of an argument over firearms and a stolen vehicle. Subsequently, Jelks was charged with murder in connection with Woodfin's death.
The case against Daniel Jelks went to trial, where the jury was presented with the conflicting accounts of the events that transpired on the night of the fatal shooting. After deliberations, the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict, resulting in a hung jury and the declaration of a mistrial in June 2018. Court records indicated that a new trial date would be set, though the final resolution of the criminal case against Jelks is not detailed in the available information.
