Juanderius Woods Shooting: Video Evidence, Trial, and Verdict

Juanderius Mar’Quez Woods, a 43-year-old Birmingham man, was shot and killed on Memorial Day 2023 in the parking lot of a public housing community in the city’s Kingston neighborhood. The killing was captured by housing authority surveillance cameras, and the footage leaked to social media within a day. Nearly three years later, on May 7, 2026, a Jefferson County jury convicted Demarco Antoine Griffin of intentional murder for the shooting.¹

What Happened on Memorial Day 2023

Around 8:00 p.m. on May 29, 2023, gunfire broke out in the parking lot of the Rev. Dr. Morrell Todd Homes. Birmingham Police Department’s ShotSpotter system registered over 90 rounds fired within roughly one minute across several blocks nearby, and police believed two groups were involved in a shootout.²³

Surveillance video showed Woods running across the parking lot as shots rang out. He fell, got back up, stumbled, and took cover behind a parked vehicle. The shooter walked up and fired multiple rounds at Woods, including point-blank shots to his head. After Woods appeared unresponsive on the ground, the shooter beat him in the head repeatedly for about nine seconds.⁴ An unidentified person who had been near Woods returned fire from behind the vehicle.⁵ Officers who arrived on scene found Woods dead in the parking lot. He died from multiple gunshot wounds.

How the Surveillance Video Solved the Case

The one-minute silent video was leaked and began circulating on social media within 24 hours. Birmingham Police public information officer Truman Fitzgerald said it was “horrible that the video was somehow leaked,” but he credited the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District’s camera network with cracking the case, saying detectives “would not have been able to solve Kingston’s homicide” without it. The network consisted of roughly 400 cameras and license plate readers across 14 housing authority properties, funded by a $6 million investment made in 2021.⁶

Arrest and Indictment

On June 2, 2023, four days after the shooting, Birmingham detectives took their case to the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, which issued a murder warrant for Demarco Antoine Griffin, then 27. Later that day, officers with the city’s community safety partnership division spotted a vehicle matching Griffin’s description at an apartment complex in east Birmingham. Homicide and crime reduction team members took him into custody without incident.² He was booked into the Jefferson County Jail and held without bond.

A Jefferson County grand jury indicted Griffin on a charge of murder on January 12, 2024. The indictment was made public on February 7, 2024.⁵ Griffin remained in custody without bond until his trial.

Trial, Self-Defense Claim, and Verdict

Griffin’s murder trial began on May 4, 2026, before Jefferson County Circuit Judge Michael Streety, with Deputy District Attorneys Neal Zarzour and Isabella Columbo prosecuting.⁷

The prosecution’s case centered on the surveillance footage, which showed Griffin targeting Woods, chasing him across the parking lot, and firing at close range while Woods was on the ground. Griffin took the stand and claimed self-defense. He testified he did not know Woods and said Woods had threatened him immediately before the shooting.⁷ The jury rejected the defense and found him guilty of intentional murder on May 7, 2026.¹

Sentencing is scheduled for July 8, 2026. Under Alabama law, murder is a Class A felony carrying a sentence of life imprisonment or, in specified circumstances for adult defendants, life without parole or death.⁸

Woods’s Prior Case

Woods had faced serious criminal charges of his own before he was killed. In January 2020, when he was 20, Woods and a co-defendant, Jehudijah Davis, were charged with capital murder in the shooting death of 26-year-old Tyrese LeRichard Morrow in Birmingham’s Southtown public housing community. Woods was also charged with attempted murder for the wounding of a second victim in the same incident.⁹

The case never reached trial. On October 28, 2020, Davis was found shot to death inside a vehicle in Birmingham. No one has been charged in his killing.¹⁰ With Davis dead and two additional material witnesses unable to be located, Deputy District Attorney Jessica Hebson moved to dismiss. In September 2021, Circuit Judge Stephen Wallace granted the motion and dismissed the capital murder and attempted murder charges against Woods without prejudice, meaning they could theoretically be refiled if new evidence or witnesses emerged.⁹

1
ABC 33/40. Alabama Man Found Guilty in Deadly Shooting in Kingston Community
2
CBS 42. Birmingham Man Arrested in Connection to Fatal Memorial Day Shooting
3
WVTM 13. Birmingham Shootout in Kingston Leaves Man Dead
4
AL.com. Man Charged in Deadly Birmingham Gunfight Captured on Surveillance Video
5
AL.com. Suspect Indicted in Deadly Birmingham Gunfight Captured on Surveillance Video
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WBRC. Surveillance Cameras Key to Arresting Murder Suspect Seen in Brutal Viral Video in Kingston
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Yahoo News. Man Convicted in Deadly Birmingham Gunfight
8
FindLaw. Alabama Code Section 13A-6-2, Murder
9
AL.com. Charges Dropped in Birmingham Murder After Witness Died, Others Failed to Show
10
ABC 33/40. Two People Found Shot in Vehicle in Birmingham