The quiet of a December afternoon was broken by gunfire at a mobile home on Morgan Street in Trussville, Alabama. On December 18, 2024, a caller reported a shooting to the Leeds Police Department, which has jurisdiction over the area, and stated that the suspect was still at the scene. Officers arrived around 12:55 p.m. and entered the home to a tragic sight. Luis Enrique Herrera-Valenciana, a 25-year-old Hispanic man, had been shot and was pronounced dead.
A woman was also found inside, suffering from life-threatening gunshot wounds to her torso. She was rushed to UAB Hospital for emergency treatment.
At the scene, officers located 40-year-old Charles Richard Bryant of Trussville and took him into custody without incident. Investigators with the Leeds Police Department determined that the violent encounter was domestic in nature. The shooting was the second homicide to occur in the city of Leeds that month, leaving the community unsettled.
Two days after the shooting, on December 20, 2024, police obtained arrest warrants for Bryant. He was charged with capital murder for the death of Luis Enrique Herrera-Valenciana and attempted murder for the attack on the female victim. Bryant was subsequently booked into the Jefferson County Jail and held without bond.
More than a year later, the case moved forward. In March 2026, a Jefferson County grand jury returned an indictment against Charles Richard Bryant, officially charging him with capital murder. According to court documents, the indictment alleged that Bryant shot and killed Herrera-Valenciana while unlawfully entering the residence with the intent to commit first-degree burglary.
As of March 2026, Bryant remained held in the Jefferson County Jail without bond as he awaited trial. Authorities have asked that anyone with further information regarding the case contact the Leeds Police Department at 205-254-2581.
