A Decatur man has been condemned to jail after being found guilty of shooting and killing another man outside of a fast-food restaurant in Birmingham.
In connection with the 2019 death of 44-year-old Charles L. Brown, Matlando Lee West, 31, was first accused of capital murder and might be executed.
December saw the conviction of West by a Jefferson County jury on the lesser charge of careless manslaughter.
West was given a 40-year prison sentence by Circuit Judge Michael Streety. According to court documents, he is appealing the sentence and will receive credit for time spent.
District Attorney Danny Carr stated, “We hope those who perpetrate violent crime in our various communities know that they will be held accountable.”
Eric Blake and Charissa Henrich handled the case prosecution. On October 14, 2019, a fatal shooting occurred at the intersection of Third Avenue West and Princeton Parkway, right outside Burger King.
According to the authorities, Brown got into a fight with a few other people at the restaurant. Brown started to drive off in his van in an attempt to escape the altercation.
Soon after, in the 200 block of 12th Street West, Brown was discovered by the police inside his totaled van. After being shot, he was pronounced dead on the spot.
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On New Year’s Eve, over two months after the fatal shooting, West was placed under arrest by Birmingham police. West, who was wearing a yellow reflector vest and a gray hoodie, was seen by an officer strolling in an alleyway close to Alameda Avenue.
The officer recognized West and was aware that he was wanted on a capital murder charge. At the time of the incident, West had previously received a criminal conviction.
He shot at an off-duty Jefferson County sheriff’s deputy in 2010, for which he entered a guilty plea in 2011. The deputy saw multiple persons obstructing traffic while driving home, according to the authorities.
West allegedly yelled at him multiple times before pulling a revolver and shooting through the deputy’s car’s back window when he requested them to move so he could pass.
No one was hurt in the one shot that the deputy returned fire with. After entering a guilty plea to first-degree assault, he received a 10-year prison term.
In 2013, he was found guilty of breaking and received a 10-year prison sentence. Although the length of his real sentence was not immediately apparent, he was detained once more in 2015 on suspicion of robbery, however, the case was eventually dropped.
