Theodore man fired fatal shots after friend pulled knife amid birthday party dispute, detective testifies

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - An argument over a gun erupted into gunfire that killed a 19-year-old Theodore man’s longtime friend – during the victim’s 21^st birthday party – according to testimony Thursday at a preliminary hearing.

Michael Pozobyt, an investigator with the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, testified that the shooting took place Oct. 17 at a trailer home on Magnolia Trace Drive in Grand Bay at Gabriel Rogers’ party. He testified that the attendees drank two bottles of Crown Royal whiskey.

An argument ensued between Rogers’ girlfriend and defendant Tucker Braxton Woods over the defendant’s desire to fire his new AR-15 pistol on the property, Pozobyt testified. He said Rogers intervened, telling his friend not to disrespect his girlfriend.

Eventually, Pozobyt testified, Woods pointed the gun. He said Rogers then took off his shirt, pulled out a full-length pocketknife and said, “If you’re gonna do it, do it.”

Pozobyt said several witnesses at the party told investigators that Woods fired several shots and then ran away.

“All of the witnesses’ accounts were pretty much the same,” he said.

Mobile County District Judge Deborah McGowin ruled prosecutors have enough evidence to present a murder charge to a grand jury. She also revoked the defendant’s bond on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol.

“It’s absolutely heartbreaking,” Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood said after the hearing. “These two young men, by all accounts, were friends. They’d been spending the day together. Apparently, this escalated very, very quickly, and some really bad decisions were made.”

Defense attorney Jason Darley said the case will come down to intent.

“Obviously, I don’t think identity is in question at this point,” he said. “It was a birthday party. You had, you know, six or eight people there. Everybody had been drinking since, I think, like I said, since like 9 in the morning. And I think most at the parties were very intoxicated, unfortunately.”

Pozobyt testified that Rogers suffered a gunshot to the back of the head, two to the chest and one to his index finger. He said investigators found eight spent .223-claiber rifle casings. He said the defendant’s brother told sheriff’s deputies where they could find the gun in a drainage culvert.

Darley suggested that his client’s intoxication may factor into the defense. Blackwood disagreed.

“The law in Alabama is that intoxication is not a defense to criminal conduct unless it rises to the level that would be equal to insanity and completely negate the intent to commit a crime,” he said. “That’s a very high threshold. Alcohol is obviously an issue in many of the cases that we deal with here, as are other drugs. So it’s something that we’re prepared to litigate.”

Darley agreed alcohol does not remove criminal liability.

“What it can do is negate a higher level of intent, where maybe instead of murder, it’s manslaughter,” he said. “You know, that’s the same thing you have with imperfect self-defense.”