6-27-2011 Alabama:BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- A man beaten to death early today by a group of men in the Southtown public housing community has been identified through fingerprints,
The Jefferson County Coroner's Office identified the victim as Ronald Oscar Shoemaker, 35, of Birmingham.
Alabama court records show Shoemaker was a convicted sex offender with a criminal history dating back to the early 1990s.
Birmingham police were called to 913 24th Street South just after 2:15 on a report of someone assaulted.
Officers found Shoemaker with head wounds, said Birmingham police spokesman Sgt. Johnny Williams Jr. He was taken to UAB Hospital were he was later pronounced dead.
Investigators said the victim was beaten and kicked by a group of males. None of the assailants are in custody, Williams said.
The assault took place in the parking lot between two rows of apartments. One resident said Shoemaker had been staying at one of the Southtown apartments with friends, but was kicked out this week.
Investigators have not disclosed a motive in the killing.
Most residents said they didn't see or hear the beating. They were awakened, they said, only when police and rescue workers flooded the scene.
"I try not to be out there at that time," said Candice Craig, 23. "They need to put a stop to all the drama for real. I've got two small kids and I can't have them around this." ..Source.. by Carol Robinson -- The Birmingham News
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4 men bound over to grand jury on murder charges in Birmingham's Southtown stabbing
7-21-2011:
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Cases against four men accused of beating and stabbing to death a Birmingham man in June were sent to a Jefferson County grand jury today, and the judge agreed not to reduce their bonds because witnesses fear retaliation.
District Judge Sheldon Watkins bound over the intentional murder cases against Robert Pierce, 46; Julius Sanders, 24; Renaedo Holloman, 29; and Anthony Samuel, 36, in the June 24 death of Ronald Oscar Shoemaker.
Shoemaker, 35, was beaten, stomped and hit with both a bottle and a chair before he was stabbed to death in a parking lot at the Southtown public housing complex off 24th Street South about 2:30 a.m. Birmingham police believe Shoemaker's death stemmed from an argument over a drug deal, Jody Jacobs, the lead Birmingham police detective in the case, testified in a preliminary hearing today.
One witness told police she saw Shoemaker and Samuel get out of Samuel's car and start fighting. Others later joined, including Sanders and Holloman, the witness told police. That witness said she saw Samuel stab the victim. Another witness identified Sanders and Pierce as being among the assailants.
All four defendants denied involvement and said they were elsewhere that night.
Defense lawyers Don Colee, Ken Gomany, Jeff Dummier and Ron Davidson asked Watkins to reduce bonds, now $100,000 each. The judge at first said he was considering a reduction, then declined after the prosecutor, Carlos Gonzalez, said witnesses were afraid they would be hurt. ..Source.. by Eric Velasco -- The Birmingham News
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