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An Opp man was convicted last week for attempted murder related to a 2020 shooting.

William Rodeshia Stoutamire, 26, was convicted after a two-day trial, for shooting Timothy “TJ” Boyd Jr. six times. The jurors deliberated a little more than half of the day before returning, finding Stoutamire guilty of attempted murder. 

During the trial, Chief Assistant District Attorney Grace Jeter called witnesses, including Boyd himself, to show that on August 29, 2020, Boyd went to the apartment where his children and their mother lived. The testimony revealed that while Boyd and his children’s mother were no longer in a serious relationship, they had been in an on-again, off-again relationship.  That night, according to Boyd, when he arrived at the apartment, he found that Stoutamire and his brother, Keyon Draugh, were also at the apartment.   

Stoutamire had also been romantically involved with the mother of Boyd’s children, but he and Draugh left when Boyd arrived. A few minutes later, a heated argument erupted between Boyd and the mother of his children, primarily about the status of their relationship. 

To avoid escalation, Boyd walked out to his car in the parking lot. He placed a few items, including a pistol, into his car, locked the door, and then began back towards the apartment to try to resolve the argument. Unbeknownst to any of the occupants of the residence, Stoutamire had not left the complex. In fact, he hid in a nearby, second story apartment, and as Boyd walked back towards the complex, Stoutamire emerged and opened fire from the second floor of the stairwell. Stoutamire continued to shoot as he advanced toward Boyd. Boyd turned and tried to run away, but he was hit by the gunfire in six different places — three times in his left leg, once in his right foot, once in the back, and once in the back of his arm.

Seeing Boyd fall to the pavement, Stoutamire fled the scene of the shooting. Paramedics took Boyd to Mizell Memorial Hospital where he was treated before being transferred to Baptist Medical Center South in Montgomery.

During their investigation, Opp Police Investigators located eight shell casings, beginning at the top of the common stairwell in the breezeway, at various points down the stairs, and in the grass at the bottom of the stairs.  Investigators also saw a trail of blood which showed where Boyd had run as he tried to evade Stoutamire.  They also found Boyd’s pistol locked inside his car, with no blood on it or on or around the car.

Stoutamire was located two days later, hiding in a shed.  He had with him a clothes basket which contained his gun magazine—a drum-style magazine which could hold up to fifty rounds of ammunition.  The gun he used to shoot Boyd, a 9-millimeter handgun, was later found in a ditch near Covington Park Apartments.  Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences’ analysis revealed that the gun and magazine were in perfect working order and that the eight shell casings had been fired with the handgun that was recovered in the ditch.

During his interview, Stoutamire admitted to shooting Boyd, but claimed he acted in self-defense.  He made the same assertions during the course of the trial.  Stoutamire testified on his own behalf and insisted that Boyd had reached into his car for a pistol.  Stoutemire further claimed that he saw the pistol in Boyd’s hand before he began shooting at Boyd.  However, the State offered testimony of eyewitnesses who said Boyd was unarmed and fleeing.  The State also offered the testimony of Opp Police Department Investigators who confirmed that the physical evidence found at the scene contradicted Stoutamire’s claim of self-defense. 

“William Stoutamire shot TJ Boyd six times, two other bullets hit Boyd’s car, and one of Stoutamire’s bullets went into an apartment window across the parking lot,” said District Attorney Walt Merrell after the trial. “He wanted to kill Boyd, and he didn’t care if anyone else was hurt or killed in the process. This was calculated and cold blooded, and I’m so glad the jury saw through his bullcrap self-defense claim.” 

Chief Assistant District Attorney Grace Jeter prosecuted the case.  She complimented the Opp Police Department for their solid investigation. 

“Lieutenant Josh Hudson and now-retired Captain Walter Inabinett handled the investigation of this shooting.  They did a fine job and left no stone unturned.  Their thoroughness enabled us to show the jury a very clear picture of what happened that night,” she said. 

Presiding Circuit Judge Charles A. “Lex” Short has set Stoutamire’s sentencing hearing in July.

Attempted murder is a Class A felony. Because Stoutamire used a deadly weapon, his range of punishment is a minimum sentence of 20 years imprisonment to a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Merrell said he will ask Judge Short to impose “a sentence that is reflective of shooting a man six times as he tried to run away. The people of Opp and the rest of the county need the assurance of knowing that this man won’t be out of prison for a very, very long time.”