Brewton men arrested for shooting T.R. Miller student in Conecuh County expected see charges upgraded
Conecuh County Sheriff Randy Brock said on Tuesday that he expects three men arrested earlier this month on first-degree assault charges to have those charges bumped up to murder in the wake of the death of a 17-year-old student at T.R. Miller High School in Brewton.
Daladarius A. Smith, 21, Ladwaun Q. Smith, 20, and Aquarius Taylor, 18, all of Brewton, were arrested on Feb. 2 on charges of first-degree assault in connection with the alleged late-night shooting of Jamal Duggans, a 17-year-old student at T.R. Miller, on Feb. 1. Officials, who said that Taylor, Daladarius Smith and Ladwaun Smith are brothers, transported them to the Conecuh County Jail, where they remained on Tuesday morning.
Duggans was transported to Baptist South in Montgomery for treatment after the shooting, but he died there on Fri., Feb. 8, which happened to be his 18th birthday.
According to Jamie L. Maloy, Senior Special Agent with the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation, agents, at the request of Castleberry police, assisted with the investigation of the shooting incident and noted that more arrests and charges are possible as the investigation continues.
“All investigative findings will be turned over to the Conecuh County District Attorney’s Office,” Maloy said.
On Tuesday, Brock and Chief Deputy Tyrone Boykin confirmed that Daladarius Smith, Ladwaun Smith and Taylor remained charged with first-degree assault. However, Brock said he expects those charges to be bumped up to murder in the coming days due to Duggans’s death.
