Antione Harris

The life of Antione Harris, a 36-year-old Black man, was violently cut short in his own home during a terrifying crime spree that stretched across multiple Alabama cities. His death on Saturday, April 18, 2020, was the final act in a 48-hour rampage by a man from Georgia, leaving a trail of devastation from Auburn to Birmingham. While other unrelated acts of violence occurred in Birmingham that weekend, the investigation into Harris's death would quickly become part of a sprawling, multi-agency effort to stop a killer.

The series of events that ended with the discovery of Harris began late on Friday, April 17, 2020. Police in Auburn were investigating the murder of Nancy Nash, 54, who was found shot to death near a burned vehicle. Her stolen pickup truck was later spotted by Birmingham police at a hotel on Crestwood Boulevard. Around 4 a.m. on Saturday, officers attempted to stop a silver sedan seen leaving the hotel. A man inside, later identified as Derrick Lee Hightower, 32, of Columbus, Georgia, opened fire on the officers.

Police returned fire, and Hightower fled on foot, sparking an intense, hours-long manhunt in the area of Montclair Road and Crestwood Boulevard. The search involved K-9 units and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office helicopter. As law enforcement scoured the area for the armed and dangerous suspect, the investigation led them to a residence on Briar Grove Drive. Inside, they made a grim discovery: Antione Harris was found in his bedroom, dead from gunshot wounds. Investigators determined he had likely been killed before dawn that Saturday.

The manhunt concluded later that morning when Hightower, who had sustained a gunshot wound to the arm during his exchange with police, surrendered to authorities. His arrest brought to a close a crime spree that included not only the murders of Nancy Nash and Antione Harris, but also the shooting deaths of a married couple, Willie Tidwell, 61, and Barbara Tidwell, 65, in their Dadeville home, and an armed robbery at an urgent care clinic in Chelsea. A 21-year-old woman, Kentrice Symonee Hill, was also arrested and charged in connection with the crimes in Auburn and Dadeville.

Derrick Lee Hightower was booked into the Jefferson County Jail and, on Monday, April 20, 2020, the Birmingham Police Department charged him with capital murder for the death of Antione Harris. He faced a host of other charges in multiple jurisdictions for the other crimes committed during his spree. Investigators pieced together how Hightower had traveled nearly 100 miles, leaving a trail of victims before the confrontation with Birmingham police ultimately led to his capture.

In August 2023, Derrick Hightower pleaded guilty to the capital murder of Antione Harris. During a court hearing, Hightower offered an apology to Harris's family. A Jefferson County judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder. He also received a 20-year sentence for the attempted murder of the police officer he shot at before his arrest. As of January 2025, Hightower had also been sentenced to death for the murders of Willie and Barbara Tidwell and was awaiting trial for the murder of Nancy Nash. The case against Antione Harris's killer is closed.