The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals has affirmed the murder conviction of a Mobile man who will now spend the rest of his life behind bars, according to the Alabama Attorney General’s Office.
Alexander Bridges, now in his mid-twenties, was convicted in Mobile County Circuit Court on October 28, 2021, for the 2018 killing of Richard Smith. He was sentenced to life in prison on January 5, 2022, and later asked the appellate court to reverse the conviction. That effort failed when the court upheld the conviction on December 9, 2022.
What happened on the night of the shooting
Investigators said Smith was shot and killed on June 24, 2018. According to the Attorney General’s release, Smith and his brother were sitting in a car in the driveway of their mother’s home when a man later identified as Bridges waved a gun through the driver’s side window. Smith got out of the car and reached for a gun of his own, and prosecutors said Bridges fired multiple shots. Smith died from three gunshot wounds.
Detectives built the case against Bridges on two key pieces of evidence cited by state attorneys: he was believed to have broken into the victim’s vehicle the day before the shooting, and he sent a threatening message on Facebook to one of those in the car just hours before Smith was killed.
Attorney General reacts to ruling
Attorney General Steve Marshall welcomed the appellate court’s decision.
“Mr. Bridges callously took the life of Richard Smith and his quest to avoid full justice for his crime has failed,” Marshall said in the announcement.
With the appeal denied, Bridges’ life sentence stands.