Birmingham was still on edge this week as new court testimony laid bare the final moments of Brandon Campbell, an 18-year-old Pleasant Grove High School student whose life was cut short in a hail of gunfire. Campbell and his longtime best friend, 17-year-old Sam Slaughter, believed they were heading out for a simple meet-up. Instead, they drove into an ambush that police say was planned to rob them of THC vape pens.
The two teens had been inseparable for years, friends who trusted each other and trusted the people around them. Investigators say that trust was exploited. According to testimony, the pair were lured to a location under the pretense of meeting a 17-year-old acquaintance. Waiting in the darkness were multiple suspects, armed and ready.
What followed was sudden and overwhelming. At least 47 shots were fired. Shell casings littered the scene. Bullets ripped through the Hyundai Genesis Campbell was driving, striking the vehicle at least ten times, with heavy damage to the front windshield. Campbell was killed. Slaughter was critically wounded, his life changed forever in a matter of seconds.
Six people are now charged in connection with the Jan. 10 shooting, and prosecutors say a seventh suspect, also a juvenile, has been or will be charged. Ricco Wells, 22, Davione Green, 22, and the 17-year-old acquaintance face capital murder charges in Campbell’s death. Kavari Wells, 19, Algie Surrell, 27, and another 17-year-old are charged with felony murder.
In court, Deputy District Attorney Blake Owens described the attack as calculated and brutal. He said the suspects lured the teens to the spot, hid in the dark, and opened fire in what he called an “extraordinarily violent situation.” Owens noted that prosecutors recognized different levels of intent among the defendants, which is why some face felony murder rather than capital murder charges.
Surrell, Kavari Wells, and one of the juveniles appeared before Jefferson County Judge Michael Streety for an Aniah’s Law hearing. Defense attorneys argued that their clients did not fire any shots and should be granted bond. Judge Streety denied the request. He pointed to the sheer scale of the violence and the fact that all of the suspects are related, saying it would be unrealistic to expect them not to have contact if released.
One detail clearly weighed on the court. “Forty-seven shell casings,” the judge said, calling it impossible to ignore. He also noted that the group ranged in age from teenagers to a 27-year-old adult, yet no one involved stepped in to stop the plan. Capital murder suspects, the court confirmed, are not eligible for bond under the law.
Birmingham homicide Detective Abanellys Perez was the only witness at the hearing. She testified that officers were called that Saturday night to a crashed vehicle in the 1600 block of Tuscaloosa Avenue Southwest. When she arrived, she found both teens shot and the car riddled with bullets. For Campbell’s family and friends, the testimony reopened wounds that are still raw. For the city, it was another reminder of how quickly youthful trust can collide with deadly intent.
