Tennessee federal prison inmate from Center Point arrested in 2020 murder of Birmingham man

Tennessee federal prison inmate from Center Point arrested in 2020 murder of Birmingham man

A Center Point man serving time in a federal prison in Tennessee has been charged with the 2020 murder of a 26-year-old Birmingham man, authorities announced Thursday.

Torace Jakhino Laster, 25, of Center Point, was identified as a suspect in the fatal shooting of Lamar Markeith Harris on June 14, 2020, said Officer Truman Fitzgerald with Birmingham police.

Laster, who is in custody of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons at Federal Correctional Institute Memphis, will remain in Tennessee until his extradition to Jefferson County to face murder charges in Harris’ death.

Laster was charged with murder and certain persons forbidden to possess a firearm. He does not have bond.

Birmingham police said the shooting appeared to stem from Laster being upset with Harris over a reported theft committed by the victim. Harris was riding a bicycle when he was fatally shot.

East Precinct officers responded to a Shot Spotter call of multiple rounds fired in the 7600 block of Third Avenue South around just after midnight on June 14, 2020, police said at the time.

Officers found Harris laying unresponsive with multiple gunshot wounds. Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service personnel pronounced him dead at the scene.