Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Last week, a Covington County jury heard evidence in two cases from the 2022 murder of Treyvous Le’Jeric “Trey” Cobbins, 22, of Andalusia. The jury convicted Teddy Donnell Cozart, 21, of Andalusia, and acquitted Alyssa Jewel Stewart, 20, also of Andalusia. Circuit Judge Lex Short presided over the joint trial.

“We very much appreciate the jury’s service and respect their verdicts,” said District Attorney Walt Merrell. “While we believe the evidence was there to convict Stewart, we are grateful that Cozart will be punished for his role in the brutal killing of Trey Cobbins. It is entirely unacceptable that someone be killed for their willingness to testify in a court of law, no matter who they’re testifying for, or what they’re testifying about. That type of conduct will not be tolerated in this county.”

Evidence at trial showed that five people were charged in Cobbins’ murder, each playing various roles in the crime. Two of the defendants previously pled guilty, and one defendant remains to be tried. On Oct. 19, 2022, Cobbins traveled to Foxwood Apartments, where Stewart lived. She had called him to deliver marijuana to her. When he arrived, Stewart delayed Cobbins in the parking lot, eventually asking him to come to her door. Surveillance footage revealed at the same time Stewart was having Cobbins wait on her, another defendant went to the duplex adjacent to Stewart’s and waited to ambush Cobbins. As Cobbins left Stewart’s apartment, the shooter ambushed Cobbins and shot at him twelve times, hitting him at least twice, mortally wounding him. Cobbins died a short time later in a Florida hospital.

Evidence against Stewart largely centered around her phone records, which showed she was in near constant contact with Cozart, her boyfriend at the time, throughout the day leading up to Cobbins’ murder. Communication between the two ceased approximately 1 and a half hours prior to the murder and resumed approximately one hour following the murder when Cozart sent Stewart a Snapchat message telling her to delete their messages. Telephone evidence indicated the absence of messages only during the time period immediately surrounding the shooting of Cobbins.

The State offered evidence showing that Cozart’s involvement by way of statements he made to Stewart and contained within her phone records, fingerprint evidence recovered from the suspect vehicle, and statements of others who placed him at the scene. Witness statements also indicated Cozart and another co-defendant had discussed at length their plan to find and kill Cobbins.

The State contends that the motive for Cobbins’ murder was his willingness to testify against Cozart’s cousin, Isaac Broughton, in a pending trial for murder in Conecuh County. Law enforcement agreed that Cobbins was an essential witness in that prosecution.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Nikki Stephens and Chief Assistant District Attorney Grace Jeter. Merrell commended Stephens and Jeter for their work on the case.

“They both did a great job. It is unfortunate that the jury didn’t find enough evidence to convict Stewart, and I take responsibility for that – but these two ladies deserve all the credit for convicting Cozart. At this time, we cannot comment further on these prosecutions or evidence within this case. We hope to push forward and try the sole remaining defendant as soon as possible.”

Stephens and Jeter expressed their appreciation to the Andalusia Police Department, and specifically Sgt. Al McGraw and Captain Brett Holmes for their tireless work on the case. Many other officers and agencies assisted in the investigation, including the State Bureau of Investigation/Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences.

Cozart’s sentencing hearing has been set for Dec. 17 at 9 a.m. Murder is a Class A felony punishable with a sentence of 10 years to life imprisonment. Cozart remains incarcerated in the Covington County Jail pending sentencing.

To read a previous article related to this story, click here.