On the evening of June 29, 2023, 33-year-old Ali K. Muhammad was preparing to leave his home in the 9600 block of 1st Bay Street in Norfolk, Virginia, for his overnight shift at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. As he was on the phone with his father, Bilal Muhammad, a well-known anti-gun violence activist, he was fatally shot. His father tragically heard his son's last words, 'Will you take that gun out of my face,' followed by a gunshot. Police were dispatched to the scene around 10:35 p.m.
and found Ali Muhammad suffering from a life-threatening gunshot wound. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The investigation into the homicide led police to 28-year-old Jalen Garces. It was revealed that Garces had parked his vehicle in a manner that blocked Muhammad's car. An argument ensued when Muhammad was attempting to leave for work. A witness reported seeing two individuals arguing in the parking lot shortly before the gunshot. Following the shooting, Garces fled the scene in a dark-colored Ford Mustang. Investigators utilized the Flock license plate recognition system, which, corroborated by cellphone data, surveillance footage, and eyewitness statements, identified Garces as the suspect.
On August 4, 2023, nearly six weeks after the incident, Jalen Garces was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He was taken into custody and held in the Norfolk City Jail without bond. Garces pleaded not guilty and his case went to trial.
After a three-day trial, during which Ali Muhammad's father testified about the harrowing final phone call with his son, a jury deliberated for approximately six hours. On Thursday, August 14, 2025, the jury convicted Jalen Garces on both charges: second-degree murder and using a firearm in the commission of murder. A sentencing hearing was subsequently scheduled. The motive for the murder, as presented during the trial, appeared to stem from the dispute over the blocked vehicle.
