Man Found Guilty in 2021 Birmingham Teen’s Shooting Death

A Jefferson County jury has convicted a 22-year-old man in the fatal shooting of a Birmingham teenager.

LaQuandre Rashaud Kelly was found guilty of murder on Thursday morning for the 2021 killing of 18-year-old Jeremy Fidel Jackson.

On Sunday, December 12, 2021, at 12:06 a.m., West Precinct officers responded to an apartment at 956 Pike Road after receiving a report of a shooting. Upon arrival, they found Jackson slumped over in a chair in the front room. Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service pronounced him dead at the scene at 12:22 a.m.

The two men were strangers. According to family members, Kelly allegedly made a comment that Jackson “looked like a demon” before fatally shooting him.

“Anything anybody asked him to do, he did it,’’ said Jackson’s older sister, Jasmine Leonard, shortly after his death. “He was a big soul.”

Jackson, who had attended Hueytown High School, was working as a manager at Crown Kitchen & Catering in Ensley. “He loved to cook, and he was so helpful,’’ Leonard added. “He was just a happy child.”

Kelly was arrested shortly after the shooting.

His trial began on Tuesday under Jefferson County Circuit Judge Shanta Craig Owens. After two days of testimony, closing arguments were presented Thursday morning, and the jury returned a guilty verdict following deliberations.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorneys Meaghan Willis and Julie McMakin.