FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 10, 2020
For media inquiries only, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Attorney General Steve Marshall Announces Court of Criminal Appeals Upholds
Jefferson County Murder Conviction
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that on Friday the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction of Darcell Marcellos Orl Walker for felony murder. Walker was convicted in Jefferson County Circuit Court in April 2019 for the murder of Ullesis Howard.
The evidence at trial showed that on June 14, 2017, Howard along with Walker
arranged to buy marijuana from Keith Watts. During the drug transaction, Howard brandished a gun while he, Walker, and Watts were sitting in a parked car completing their drug transaction. Howard and Watts struggled for control of the gun and Howard was shot and killed during the struggle. Watts fled the scene while Walker drove away in the vehicle. Police later found Howard’s body beside a street in Birmingham.
Walker was convicted of felony murder for the death of his accomplice. Jefferson County-Bessemer District Attorney Lynneice Washington’s office successfully prosecuted this case and obtained a guilty verdict. Walker attempted to have his conviction reversed on appeal.
The Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Division handled the case during the appeals process, arguing for the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to affirm Walker’s conviction. The Court did so in a decision issued Friday, September 4.
Attorney General Marshall commended Assistant Attorney General Cameron G. Ball for his successful work on this case. He also thanked Jefferson County-Bessemer District Attorney Lynneice Washington and her staff for their assistance in defending the murder conviction.
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