Ladarrell Lamar Hart, 27, was found dead in his Alexander City, Alabama, home in the early morning of January 18, 2017, after suffering apparent gunshot wounds. A roommate discovered him at about 5 a.m.; the roommate’s last contact with Hart was a social media message around 3 a.m. The shooting occurred at a residence on Third Street and prompted an Alexander City Police Department homicide investigation.

Investigators executed search warrants in the days after the killing and arrested two 20-year-old men from nearby Dadeville, identified as Edward Rashun Thomas and Bobby Lee Ponds Jr., both charged with capital murder. According to an account attributed to Ponds, he and Thomas had been drinking and playing cards in Hart’s home when Thomas shot Hart; Ponds said he fled and later saw Thomas leaving the residence carrying two televisions. Ponds later pleaded guilty as a youthful offender and agreed to testify for the prosecution, receiving a sentence capped at three years probation.

Anyone who knew Hart, saw him that night, or has information about events at the Third Street residence is asked to come forward.