Devonta Reddick, a 27-year-old Black man described by his family as a sweet person who was always laughing, was the one who kept his family together. His sister, Karlisha Reddick, remembered him as a "really good man" who always wanted everyone to be together. But in the early hours of a February morning, the life he was building with his growing family was brutally extinguished in a violent home invasion.
On February 6, 2020, Devonta was at his home in the 1100 block of Dogwood Lane in Birmingham, Alabama, with his girlfriend, Sabrea Baylor, and their 3-year-old child. At approximately 6:30 a.m., while the family was asleep, at least two men forced their way into the residence. A violent confrontation erupted as Devonta charged at the intruders in a desperate attempt to protect his loved ones. During the struggle, he was shot.
Sabrea, who was nine months pregnant, grabbed a weapon and also confronted the attackers.
She was shot multiple times, including in the leg, but heroically managed to return fire, wounding one of the intruders in the neck. As the chaos unfolded, Devonta yelled for her to protect their child. She ran to the boy’s bedroom, closing the door as one of the assailants came after her. After another exchange of gunfire, the attackers fled the home. Sabrea, despite her severe injuries, made her way across the street to her grandparents' house to get help.
When Birmingham Police Department officers arrived, they found Devonta Reddick unresponsive in his front yard, suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Sabrea Baylor was rushed to UAB Hospital with life-threatening injuries. In an incredible display of strength and resilience, she survived the attack and gave birth to the couple’s second child the very next day.
The investigation led police to identify Melvin Charles Morris of Montgomery as a primary suspect. Six months after the murder, in August 2020, U.S. Marshals located and arrested the 41-year-old in Nashville, Tennessee. He was extradited back to Birmingham and held in the Jefferson County Jail without bond on charges of capital murder and attempted murder. Three months later, in November 2020, authorities arrested a second suspect, 28-year-old Cameron Dejuan Blanding of Birmingham, on the same charges.
In July 2025, a Jefferson County jury convicted Melvin Charles Morris of felony murder and first-degree assault. Due to previous felony convictions, he was sentenced under Alabama's habitual offender laws to two consecutive life sentences. During his sentencing, Sabrea Baylor told the court that Morris showed no remorse, staring at her and laughing at her family during the trial.
The final chapter of the case closed in the fall of 2026. In September 2026, co-defendant Cameron Dejuan Blanding was convicted for his role in the deadly home invasion. He was sentenced for capital murder and attempted murder and, in October 2026, was transferred to the Alabama Department of Corrections to begin serving his sentence, bringing the long fight for justice for Devonta Reddick and his family to an end. Anyone with information about this case can contact the Birmingham Police Department Homicide Unit at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
