Three suspects charged with reckless murder in Dadeville birthday party shooting

DADEVILLE — Two teenagers and a 20-year-old Auburn man have been arrested and charged with four counts of reckless murder in a Saturday night shooting at a Dadeville birthday party that also injured 32, law enforcement confirmed Wednesday.

Officials said brothers Tyreese "Ty Reik" McCullough, 17, and Travis McCullough, 16, both of Tuskegee, were arrested at 8 p.m. Tuesday in Macon County. The teens are being charged as adults, said 5th Circuit District Attorney Mike Segrest. An Aniah's Law hearing will be scheduled within 72 hours, he said. The law, passed last year, allows for defendants facing certain violent crimes to be held without bail. The state will be seeking no bail, he said.

The Montgomery Advertiser is naming the juvenile suspects because they are being charged as adults and because of the severity of the charges.

Hours later, authorities announced the arrest of Wilson LaMar Hill Jr., 20, of Auburn. Hill was also charged with four counts of reckless murder. Reckless murder is a Class A felony with a punishment range of 10 to 99 years in prison.

State and local law enforcement officials made the first arrest announcement during a 10 a.m. news conference Wednesday on the steps of the Tallapoosa County Courthouse, which is about a block away from the site of the shooting. Prior to that, officials had confirmed the number of people killed and injured and said that there was no longer an immediate threat.

Sgt. Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency took a few questions at the news conference but declined to respond to most, including why the public was not informed about any possible suspects who were at large. Burkett also declined to comment about any possible motive in the case or about the number and caliber of shells casings recovered at the crime scene. ALEA did release Tuesday that pistol-caliber empty shell casings were recovered, and that no high-powered rifle round empty shell casings were found.

Segrest said information about the case has been scarce because of the nature of the investigation. He noted that four other people who were shot at the party remain in critical condition. "We're going to make sure every one of those victims has justice, and not just the deceased," Segrest said.

The four counts the McCulloughs face now are for the four fatalities, Segrest said. More charges are likely, including charges related to the 32 victims who were injured.

Reckless murder can be a confusing charge.

"You can't say 'I didn't know' as a defense," said 19th Judicial Circuit District Attorney CJ Robinson, who serves Autauga, Chilton and Elmore counties and is not involved in the Dadeville investigation. "Reckless murder is when you know your actions will threaten the lives of one or more people."

Dadeville Police Chief Jonathan Floyd asked for the public to continue to have patience.

"These arrests are the tip of the iceberg, the very beginning," Floyd said. "We have one chance to get it right. We are going to make sure, and be very slow and very methodical. Making an arrest isn't the finish line."

The goal is to get convictions that will result "...in ultimate justice for our victims," he said.

A small crowd residents gathered on the courthouse lawn, or just nearby, to hear details from the conference. Many went away disappointed.

"I'm glad they made two arrests, I really am," said Ray Hale, who was sitting on a bench in front of Ellaby Boutique, across the street from the courthouse. "But I want to know, are they looking for anybody else, and if so how many. I understand not giving details, with the work going on and all. But we need to know if they are looking for anybody else."

On Monday morning, Tallapoosa County Coroner Mike Knox confirmed to the Montgomery Advertiser the identities of the four people who died in the shooting. They included 18-year-old Dadeville High School senior Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, 17-year-old Dadeville High School senior KeKe Smith, 19-year-old Opelika native and musician Marsiah "Siah" Collins and 23-year-old Dadeville native Corbin Holston.

Burkett asked other witnesses who attended the party to come forward with information.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Three suspects charged with reckless murder in Dadeville shooting