29-year-old convicted in 2018 shooting in Gate City that killed Birmingham man

A 29-year-old man has been convicted in the 2018 shooting death of another man in Birmingham.

Melvin Akeem Taylor was initially charged with murder in the slaying of 32-year-old Napolean January. A Jefferson County jury on Thursday found Taylor guilty of a reduced charge of reckless manslaughter.

The shooting happened just before 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 9, 2018, in the Marks Village public housing community in Birmingham’s Gate City. January died three months after the shooting.

January was found suffering from a gunshot wound to the stomach. He was taken to UAB Hospital where he died on Valentine’s Day in 2019.

Napolean January, 32, died Feb. 14, 2019, more than three months after he was wounded in a shooting in Birmingham’s Gate City community.

Family members told AL.com in 2019 that they were with him when he died. “It’s been tough,’’ one family member said at the time. “He was fun, he was loving, he was kind, and he was an awesome father.”

January left behind one daughter.

Jefferson County Deputy District Attorneys Will McComb and Ty Henderson prosecuted Taylor. Taylor was represented by the Jefferson County Public Defender’s office. Circuit Judge Stephen Wallace presided over the trial.

Taylor has been in the Jefferson County Jail since Nov. 18, 2018.

A sentencing date has not been set. Taylor could face anywhere from 20 years to life in prison because he has four prior felony convictions.