Kirby Kermit Davis Jr., 32, was shot dead in Birmingham, Alabama on the evening of December 20, 2018, after an encounter at an apartment complex tied to what testimony described as a planned marijuana transaction. The man who fired the fatal shot, Samuel Bernard Smith, then 23, later said he had been robbed and kidnapped by four men, including Davis. Smith testified the group brandished weapons, took his belongings, and that after being pushed down he armed himself, went outside to check whether his assailants had left, and then exchanged gunfire with occupants of a vehicle; Davis was pronounced dead at the scene after the vehicle crashed.

Smith was arrested and charged with capital murder in early 2019. In April 2022 a Jefferson County Circuit Judge dismissed the capital murder charge, citing Alabama’s Stand Your Ground law and finding Smith had the right to defend himself under the circumstances presented in court. The fatal shooting, the robbery and kidnapping allegations, and the judge’s ruling are the core facts of the case.

Did anyone in the Birmingham area know Davis or have information about the events that led to that December 20 encounter?