MOBILE, Ala. — Mobile police have made a second arrest in the December 2024 Gayle Street homicide, in which a juvenile was found shot to death beside a car that had crashed into a pole after a series of gunshots in the area. The person arrested Thursday, Oct. 22, was a juvenile at the time of the shooting, so police are not releasing his name.
The Mobile Police Department announced the arrest in a news release Friday. It did not say what charge or charges he faces.
What police say happened in December 2024
The case dates to the night of Monday, Dec. 9, 2024. At about 10:23 p.m., officers were called to the 800 block of Charles Street after a report of shots fired, according to police.
Officers determined that the shots had come from a car that was headed toward Gayle Street. While they were still at the Charles Street scene, they heard another round of gunfire coming from the direction of Gayle Street.
Officers went to Gayle Street and found a car that had struck a pole in the 1100 block. A juvenile male who had been hit by gunfire was found dead near the vehicle. Police have not publicly identified him.
The first arrest
Within days of the shooting, police arrested a juvenile and charged him with murder, assault, robbery and kidnapping. Investigators alleged that he had held the people inside the car at gunpoint and robbed them. Because he was a juvenile, his name was not released.
Police have not said how the two arrests are connected, what role investigators believe the second person played, or who fired the shots that killed the victim.
The second arrest
In Friday’s release, police said that as the investigation continued, detectives identified and located a male suspect. He was taken into custody Thursday and charged in connection with the homicide. Police said that because he was a juvenile when the shooting happened, they are withholding his name.
The department did not say whether the suspect is still a juvenile, whether his case will be handled in juvenile or adult court, or where he is being held. It also did not explain why the second arrest came more than 22 months after the shooting.
Both suspects are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in court.
Why police withhold juveniles’ names
In Alabama, as in most states, cases involving people under 18 generally go through juvenile court, where proceedings and records are kept confidential. The system places more emphasis on rehabilitation than adult criminal court does, and law enforcement agencies typically do not release the names of juvenile suspects.
That practice is tied to a person’s age at the time of the alleged offense, not at the time of arrest. That is why police can withhold the name of someone who was a juvenile in December 2024 even if he has since turned 18.
There are exceptions. Alabama law requires that older teens charged with certain serious offenses be prosecuted as adults. Under state law, a 16- or 17-year-old charged with a capital offense, a Class A felony, or certain other felonies, such as those involving the use of a deadly weapon, is charged and tried in adult court. For younger juveniles, prosecutors can ask a juvenile court judge to transfer a case to adult court after a hearing. When a case moves to adult court, the defendant’s name usually becomes part of the public record.
Police have not said whether either suspect in the Gayle Street case falls into those categories.
What typically happens after a juvenile arrest
When a juvenile is taken into custody in Alabama, the case is referred to juvenile court, where an intake officer reviews the complaint. If the young person is held in a detention facility, state law requires a detention hearing within 72 hours, at which a judge decides whether continued detention is necessary. From there, the case can proceed toward an adjudicatory hearing, the juvenile court’s version of a trial, unless prosecutors seek a transfer to adult court.
A defendant whose case is in adult court but who was under 21 at the time of the offense may also ask to be considered for youthful offender status. If a judge grants it, the case is handled more confidentially and the potential sentence is capped, and the outcome is not treated as a criminal conviction. Judges have broad discretion over whether to grant that status, especially in violent cases.
How Alabama classifies the charges
The charges announced against the first suspect are among the most serious in the state’s criminal code:
- Murder is a Class A felony in Alabama, punishable by 10 to 99 years or life in prison for an adult.
- Kidnapping in the first degree, which involves holding someone against their will for purposes such as committing a felony, is also a Class A felony.
- Robbery in the first degree, which involves the use or threatened use of a deadly weapon, is a Class A felony as well.
- Assault charges range from misdemeanors to felonies depending on the degree and the injuries involved.
Police did not specify the degrees of the robbery, kidnapping or assault charges in the first case, and they did not release the charges in the second. Juvenile court judges have different sentencing options than adult courts, so the penalties for a juvenile case can differ significantly.
Long investigations are not unusual
An arrest nearly two years after a homicide is not uncommon. Detectives in shooting cases often wait on results from forensic testing, including firearms and ballistics analysis, DNA and cellphone records, which can take months. New witnesses may come forward over time, and information developed in unrelated cases sometimes leads investigators back to an older one.
Police have not said what led them to the second suspect.
What remains unknown
- The identity of the juvenile who was killed
- The specific charge or charges against the second suspect
- Whether the first suspect’s case has been resolved
- Whether investigators believe anyone else was involved
- Whether the people inside the car were hurt
How to share information
Anyone with information about the December 2024 shooting can contact the Mobile Police Department at 251-208-7211 or text an anonymous tip to 844-251-0644.
