Deon Levonte King-Smith, a 32-year-old Black man from North Carolina, was shot and killed in Pelham, Alabama, in the predawn hours of March 5, 2023. The shooting occurred at the Extended Stay America on Bishop Circle shortly before 5:00 a.m., after a confrontation that reportedly began over a cellphone. Emergency crews pronounced King-Smith dead at the scene.

Police investigators moved quickly and identified a suspect soon after the shooting. Authorities arrested 39-year-old Nehemiah Scroggins and charged him with murder; reports also said he faced a menacing count tied to the same incident. Scroggins was booked into the Shelby County Jail and reported held without bond following the arrest.

Does anyone have information about what led to the confrontation or witnessed events at the hotel that morning?