The suspect in a December homicide in Tuscaloosa has been taken into custody in Washington.

Cedric McClinton Jr., 50, is charged with murder in the Dec. 11, 2024, shooting death of 37-year-old Cornelius Terell Smith.

McClinton is also charged with attempted murder and discharging a firearm into an unoccupied vehicle, said Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit Capt. Jack Kennedy.

The shooting happened at Forrester Gardens apartments on James I Harrison Jr. Parkway,

The wounded Smith was taken to DCH Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

A motive has not been disclosed.

Kennedy said Tuesday that authorities have been searching for McClinton since then.

McClinton was taken into custody Feb. 5 by officers with the Kent Police Department in Washington.

Detectives there received a tip that McClinton was hiding in Kent.

Investigators determined that the suspect and his girlfriend were staying in a hotel at the 22500 block of 83 Avenue South.

The department’s Crime Reduction Unit team responded to the hotel and verified he was still registered there, according to a Kent police press release issued Tuesday.

As officers arrived, authorities said, McClinton noticed the police cars in the parking and quickly tried to walk away.

However, he complied with demands to stop and was taken into custody.

McClinton remains held in Washington pending extradition to Alabama.