Video captures final moments of 4 men shot dead in Birmingham as suspects’ car circles block

The February deaths of four men at a Birmingham neighborhood car wash were captured on video surveillance cameras and showed the suspects’ vehicle circling the block for about 10 minutes before they opened fire.

Two gunmen dressed in black were seen getting out of the black 2022 Hyundai Elantra and then running back to the car. They left a trail of 37 shell casings from two guns in their wake, according to court testimony Tuesday in the case.

That Hyundai Elantra was found about five miles away and burst into flames just 20 minutes after showing evidence of the fatal shooting.

Lamarion Tykese Charlie, a 20-year-old Birmingham man, is accused of killing 36-year-old Talton “TJ” Tait and 32-year-old Cortez Ray Terrell Edwards in age 38, and of Kevin McGhee, age 38.

Charlie is charged with capital murder for killing two or more people and capital murder in the presence of a child under the age of 14. One of Ray’s 8-year-old twin sons witnessed his father’s murder.

The victims were all lifelong friends.

Birmingham Homicide Det. Jarvelius Tolliver was the only witness at Charlie’s preliminary hearing before Jefferson County District Judge Katrina Ross.

Tolliver testified that Charlie, when questioned by detectives, waived his Miranda rights and admitted to being the driver of the Elantra at the time of the shootings.

The two actual shooters remain at large. Tolliver testified that only one of them was identified.

Charlie, police said, admitted to driving the suspect vehicle that day.

Assistant District Attorney Shawn Allen is prosecuting the case. Charlie is represented by defense attorneys Maston Evans and Wakisha Howard.

Family members of the slain men packed the courtroom Wednesday.

The shooting happened around 2:45 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16, outside Tait’s family home on Center Street North, where he ran a neighborhood car wash.

Edwards and Ray, one of whom was there for a car wash, fell in front of the house near the cars. Father-of-four Tait ran a short distance before collapsing on the side of a neighbour’s house.

All three were pronounced dead at the scene.

McGhee was taken to UAB Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Autopsies revealed that Tait was shot once and the other three victims were shot multiple times.

Two of the victims, McGhee and Edwards, were cousins.

Edwards was a city employee who started in Public Works and moved to Parks and Recreation. It was just 15 minutes before the fatal shooting, and McGhee picked him up.

Tolliver testified that two neighborhood cameras captured the day’s events — one from the Smithfield public housing community and the other from a neighborhood store a block away.

One of the cameras only captured the suspects arriving and leaving, but the second captured the actual shooting.

Tolliver said Flock cameras and license plate readers recorded the suspect vehicle driving around the area for about 10 minutes before the shooting, essentially circling the victims.

The Elantra then stopped in front of Tait’s house.

Tolliver said the driver — now identified as Charlie — remained in the vehicle, which was on Center Street in front of the Rev. Abraham Woods Jr. Boulevard.

The rear seat passenger on the driver’s side was the first to exit the vehicle. He approached the victims, Tolliver said.

A few seconds later, the front seat passenger also got out. He was holding a long gun and was walking towards where the victims were gathered.

Both suspects were dressed in black.

Tolliver said they both ran back to the car. Police recovered 27 shell casings from a long gun and 10 shell casings from a .40 caliber pistol.

The Elantra sped off and was caught on a Flock camera within 40 seconds of taking the shot.

Just 20 minutes later, Tolliver said, Birmingham police were dispatched to a car on fire in the 2700 block of Old Wenonah Road. That car, the detective said, was a black 2022 Hyundai Elantra.

Charlie was taken into custody and booked into the Jefferson County Jail on February 29.

When interviewed by detectives, Tolliver said, Charlie waived his Miranda rights.

The detective said Charlie was initially evasive about answering questions.

“When I asked him specifically about him in that car … I asked him what role he played when the shooting happened in Smithfield on February 16th and he said he was the driver,” Tolliver said.

Charlie told detectives that he did not know the name of the person in the front passenger seat and only knew the first name of the person sitting behind him in the back seat.

Tolliver said none of the weapons used in the fatal shooting have been recovered.

Charlie’s attorney argued that his client never got out of the car, was not one of the shooters, and therefore there was no probable cause for the case against him to proceed.

Allen disagreed.

“He was driving the car that went around the block several times. He parked right in front of where the victims were standing. The two accomplices get out of the car, go to kill the victims, get back in the car where the defendant speeds off and immediately within 20 minutes of killing these four men, this defendant and his accomplices try to dispose of evidence by burning. car,” Allen said.

“It is very clear,” he said, “that he is complicit in this act.”

Judge Ross ruled that there was enough evidence against Charlie to send the case to the grand jury for indictment.