VCU: Man Shot to Death in Tuscaloosa Was Would-Be Robber, Alleged Partner Arrested

One of two would-be robbers targeting a Tuscaloosa man in an apartment complex parking lot Saturday evening was shot and killed during the attempt, and the other has been charged with his death.

Tuscaloosa Police told local media that they responded at about 7:30 p.m. Saturday, October 10 to a report that a shooting victim was being taken to DCH Regional Medical Center from the 1000 block of Investigator Dornell Cousette Street, according to the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit.

Investigators later determined the shooting itself happened in the parking lot of Magnolia Apartments at 5621 Highway 69 South.

After processing the scene and interviewing multiple involved parties and witnesses, investigators determined that two 20-year-old Oxford men, Kurtae’vious Earl Tyson and Deronte Collins, had tried to rob a 25-year-old Tuscaloosa man, VCU Lt. Michael Hall said.

The VCU says shots were exchanged during the attempted robbery. Tyson was critically wounded and later died.

The 25-year-old was not identified and no charges against him were announced.

Collins has been charged with felony murder, first-degree robbery, attempted murder and shooting into an occupied vehicle.

Under Alabama’s felony murder statute, a person can be charged with murder when someone dies during the commission of certain serious felonies, including robbery, even if the person charged did not fire the fatal shot and even if the person who died was a participant in the crime.

Collins is being held in the Tuscaloosa County Jail without bond under Aniah’s Law, Hall said. His mugshot was not immediately available at the time this story was published at 4:15 a.m. Sunday.

Collins has not entered a plea. A charge is an accusation, not a conviction, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

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Gallery Credit: (Stephen Dethrage | Tuscaloosa Thread)