A Shelby County man has been convicted of a lesser charge in the 2021 shooting death of a 19-year-old woman in Calera.

A jury on Thursday found Justin Powell, 32, guilty of manslaughter. Powell was initially charged with murder in the slaying Dajah Iman Cutts.

The shooting happened about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021, at a home on Ninth Avenue.

Police responding to the scene on a report of shots fired found Cutts, of Montevallo, critically wounded.

Calera fire medics treated Cutts on the scene and then rushed her to UAB Hospital where she was later pronounced dead.

Cutt’s obituary described her as an “old soul with a bleeding heart, infectious smile and blazing beauty.”

The murder trial began Tuesday before Shelby County Judge William Bostick.

The case was prosecuted by Chief Deputy District Attorney Ben Fuller and Assistant District Attorney Brooke Grigsby.

Attorneys Jason Wollitz and Johnathan Williams.

After the shot was fired that day, Fuller said, witnesses reported that Cutts screamed, “You shot me, you shot me.”

Powell, who was in a dating relationship with Cutts, was arrested at the scene, initially on charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and public intoxication.

He told authorities he was high on methamphetamine at the time Cutts was killed.

The jury also found him guilty of unlawful possession of marijuana.

Attorneys for Powell said Cutts had taken the gun, without permission from the bedroom of Powell’s mother. There was no magazine in the gun and Cutts was trying to eject the remaining shell while at the same time preventing Powell from getting the gun away from her.

The shot was fired, striking Cutts in the groin area. The bullet then traveled upward.

The defense contended that the state could not prove the shooting was intentional.

Fuller called the fatal shooting a domestic violence homicide.

“Combined with Mr. Powell’s drug use, this was a recipe for the tragic result that we have,’’ Fuller said. “We appreciate the jury’s work in this case, and we hope the result brings closure to Ms. Cutts family and sheds light on these serious issues.”

“The prosecution team did an exceptional job,’’ Calera Police Chief David Hyche said, “and we’re grateful the victim’s family got justice.”

Sentencing is set for April 7.