20-year-old charged with capital murder in Birmingham drive-by that killed 4 longtime friends

20-year-old charged with capital murder in Birmingham drive-by that killed 4 longtime friends

A 20-year-old suspect has been charged in the drive-by shooting that killed four longtime friends in Birmingham.

Lamarion Tykese Charlie, of Birmingham, is charged with capital murder in the deaths of Talton “TJ” Tait, 36, as Cortez Ray, 32, Terrell Edwards, 38, and Kevin McGhee, 38.

Charlie was booked into the Jefferson County Jail Thursday and remains held without bond.

The shooting happened about 2:45 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16, outside Tait’s family home where he ran a neighborhood car wash.

A drive-by shooting in Birmingham’s Smithfield community left four men dead on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024.(Carol Robinson)

Investigators believe more than one person in a vehicle carried out the deadly, targeted drive-by.

Edwards and Ray, one of whom was there getting a car wash, fell in front of the home near the cars. Tait, a father of four, ran a short distance before collapsing on the side of a neighbor’s house.

All three were pronounced dead on the scene.

McGhee was taken to UAB Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Smithfield Shooting Feb. 16, 2024

Four men were killed in a hail of gunfire Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, in Birmingham. From left to right – Cortez Ray, Kevin McGhee, Talton Tait and Terrell Edwards.(Contributed)

Two of the victims, McGhee and Edwards, were cousins.

Edwards was a city employee who started in Public Works and moved to Parks and Recreation. He clocked out just 15 minutes before the deadly shooting and McGhee picked him up.

Their cousin, Leelee Thomas, said both were great men, amazing fathers, and went to work and spent time with their children and families.

“They were popular and very much loved,’’ Thomas said. “They will be missed.”

Tait ran the neighborhood car wash, but also did so much more.

“He painted the store on the corner. He cut all the grass on this block, even abandoned houses,’’ his mother, Jimone Griffin, said.

He even went to the store for his elderly neighbors and gave them free car washes on Sunday.

“They called him ‘Black Jesus,’’’ Griffin said.

“Everybody who met my child was touched by him and loved him,’’ Griffin said. “There was something special about him.”

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.