Five Charged With Attempted Murder in July Rickarby Street Shooting That Wounded Mobile Woman

MOBILE, Ala. — Nearly four months after gunfire tore into a car parked in a Mobile driveway and left a woman with a head wound, the Mobile Police Department has charged five people with attempted murder in the Rickarby Street shooting. Officers took three 18-year-old men and two juveniles into custody on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, and police said the two minors will be prosecuted as adults.

The arrests close one chapter of a case that had gone without a public break since the night of Wednesday, July 22, 2026, when the woman was struck while arriving at her home. She survived, but she continues to deal with lasting injuries, and she said the news of the arrests was the first time in months that she felt safe stepping outside.

Who has been charged

Police identified the three adults as Dantarious Franklin, Alex Porter and Markail Tolbert, all 18. The names of the two juveniles have not been released, and South AL News does not identify minors accused of crimes. Officers escorted the three men to Mobile County Metro Jail on Thursday afternoon. None of them made any comment as they were walked out.

According to the department, every one of the five faces the same set of charges:

• Attempted murder
• Shooting into an occupied vehicle
• Shooting into an unoccupied vehicle, two counts
• Shooting into an occupied dwelling

Police said the suspects were identified and located through an investigation that stretched across several months. Jail records show all five remained in custody after their arrests, and bond hearings for the defendants were set for Friday morning, Nov. 13.

What happened on July 22

The woman who was wounded had just returned home after celebrating her 51st birthday and had pulled into her driveway on Rickarby Street when the shooting started. Mobile’s police chief said the suspects were firing at a vehicle and that she was caught between them and their target. She had no connection to the dispute, and the chief described her as entirely innocent in the matter.

One round struck her in the head. She said investigators recovered roughly 150 spent shell casings outside her car that were linked to four different guns, and that an insurance adjuster later counted 108 bullet strikes on the vehicle itself. Police have not publicly released their own count of the rounds fired.

She said the last thing she remembers from that night is her son urging her to wake up.

A long recovery

The woman underwent surgery and spent months recovering. She said fragments of the bullet remain in her head. She had to relearn how to walk, and a close friend said she has since been able to set aside the walker she relied on during the early part of her recovery. She continues to deal with lasting effects from the wound, she said.

On the afternoon of the arrests she was seen outside in her driveway. She said it was the first day since the shooting that she had felt secure enough to go out in front of her house, and that she was satisfied to see the people accused of shooting her in custody. She added that the community now has to make sure the suspects stay behind bars.

The chief said he had spoken with her shortly before announcing the arrests and that she was in good spirits and glad to hear the news. He also thanked the public, and the woman herself, for their patience while detectives worked the case.

Even with the arrests, she said she no longer feels comfortable living near Rickarby Park. She said the shooting felt deeply unfair, and she spoke about the role she believes parents must play in guiding young people away from violence.

Questions about motive

Police have not announced a motive. Asked whether the shooting was gang-related, the chief said he could not make that determination at this stage, but that investigators know all five suspects are acquainted with one another.

The woman said she believes the violence grew out of a feud among young people in the area. She said that on the day she was shot, people involved had been standing in front of her home and broadcast a live social media video inviting rivals to come find them, and that after the shooting someone sent a taunting message referring to her as a grandmother on the ground. She said the only child in her family near that age range is her 5-year-old grandson. Police have not confirmed her account of the online messages or connected them to the charges.

Reward went unclaimed

During the investigation, the Mobile Police Department offered a $2,500 cash reward for information leading to an arrest. The chief said no tips came in through that offer and that no one will collect the money. He said the lack of cooperation after the reward was announced was frustrating, because the department had expected it to generate leads.

Instead, the arrests came from detective work. Police did not detail the specific evidence that led them to the five suspects.

One suspect was already in jail

Franklin was already being held at Metro Jail when the new charges were filed against him. Jail records list earlier charges against him involving drugs, theft and a machine gun conversion device, and show that a grand jury indicted him in September on an allegation that he had a so-called Glock switch attached to a pistol.

A conversion device of that type is a small part that allows a semi-automatic handgun to fire continuously with a single pull of the trigger. Federal law treats such devices as machine guns, and possessing one without federal registration is a serious crime. Law enforcement agencies around the country have reported growing numbers of them turning up at crime scenes in recent years.

A letter written to a judge by one of Franklin’s relatives states that about two months before the Rickarby Street shooting, his only brother was killed. Investigators have said that a 20-year-old man was shot to death shortly before 2 a.m. on May 18 outside a home on O’Donnell Street in Mobile, in what police described as a gang shootout, and that four other people were wounded in that incident. Police have not said whether that killing has any bearing on the July shooting.

A second shooting near Rickarby Park

The July incident was not the only time shots rang out near Rickarby Park this year. On Sept. 13, gunfire captured on a doorbell camera struck several vehicles and a home in the area. The chief said it is not yet clear whether any of the five people arrested this week are tied to that September shooting, and police have not announced arrests in that case.

Understanding the charges

Under Alabama law, attempted murder is classified as a Class A felony, the most serious category of felony short of a capital offense. A conviction for a Class A felony carries a potential prison sentence ranging from 10 years up to life.

Alabama also has a specific statute that covers firing a gun into buildings and vehicles. Shooting into an occupied dwelling or an occupied vehicle is a Class B felony, which carries a possible sentence of two to 20 years in prison. Shooting into an unoccupied vehicle or building is a lesser Class C felony. Because each vehicle or structure struck can form the basis of a separate count, a single burst of gunfire can lead to several charges, as it has here.

The charges listed by police are accusations. Each of the five defendants is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

Why the juveniles are charged as adults

In Alabama, most criminal cases involving people under 18 are handled in juvenile court, where proceedings are generally closed and the focus is on rehabilitation. State law makes exceptions for older teens accused of the most serious crimes. Certain offenses, including Class A felonies and felonies involving the use of a deadly weapon, can move a case into adult circuit court, either automatically based on the minor’s age and the charge or through a transfer hearing in which a judge decides whether juvenile court is the right venue.

Police said both juveniles in this case will be charged as adults. That means their cases will proceed in the same court system as the three 18-year-olds, where the potential penalties are the same as for adult defendants.

What comes next in court

The bond hearings set for Friday are an early step in the process. At a bond hearing, a judge considers whether a defendant may be released before trial and under what conditions, weighing factors such as the seriousness of the charges, any criminal history and whether the person poses a danger to the public or a risk of not returning to court.

Felony cases in Mobile County are typically presented to a grand jury, which decides whether there is enough evidence to issue an indictment. If indictments are returned, the defendants are arraigned in Mobile County Circuit Court, where they enter pleas, and the cases move toward either negotiated resolutions or trial. That process often takes many months.

The Mobile County District Attorney’s Office will be responsible for prosecuting the cases.

Key facts at a glance

• Date of shooting: Wednesday, July 22, 2026
• Location: Rickarby Street, near Rickarby Park, in Mobile
• Injured: A 51-year-old woman who was shot in the head in her driveway and survived
• Arrests: Three 18-year-old men and two juveniles, taken into custody Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026
• Charges: Attempted murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle, two counts of shooting into an unoccupied vehicle and shooting into an occupied dwelling
• Reward: A $2,500 reward drew no tips and will not be paid

How residents can help

The chief’s comments about the unclaimed reward highlight how much investigators depend on information from the public. Anyone who witnessed the July 22 shooting, the Sept. 13 gunfire near Rickarby Park or any related activity is encouraged to contact the Mobile Police Department. Tips can often be shared anonymously through local crime tip lines, and even small details such as the description of a vehicle, the time shots were heard or video from a home security camera can help detectives build a case.

Residents who capture gunfire or suspicious activity on doorbell or security cameras are encouraged to preserve that footage and share it with police, as recordings of that kind have become an increasingly important tool in neighborhood shooting investigations.