Napolean Myron Ivory

Napolean Myron Ivory, a 19-year-old Black man from Selma, Alabama, was a recent graduate of Selma High School who was remembered by friends as a "Lapsley legend." Known by the nickname "2 li lap," he had a funny personality and a promising future ahead of him. His life, however, was cut tragically short in the early evening of Thursday, May 28, 2020, leaving a family and community to grieve the sudden and violent loss of a young life that was just beginning.

That evening, around 6:00 p.m., Napolean was walking with a relative on the 400 block of Lapsley Street in his hometown of Selma. The ordinary scene was shattered when a vehicle drove up and an individual inside began shooting at him. Napolean was struck by the gunfire, sustaining critical injuries. In the moments before he was overcome by his wounds, he was able to speak with police and provide a crucial piece of information: a description of the shooter's vehicle. He was rushed to a local hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.

The information Napolean provided in his final moments proved vital to the Selma Police Department's investigation. Led by then-Police Chief Kenta Fulford, officers quickly located the suspect vehicle at a hotel in the city. The investigation progressed rapidly, and the very next day, on May 29, 2020, police made an arrest. They took 27-year-old Rodkeithrick Hurry, also of Selma, into custody in connection with the fatal shooting.

Hurry was subsequently charged with capital murder and shooting into an occupied dwelling. He was booked into the Dallas County Jail and was initially held without bond. The swift arrest brought a measure of progress, but it was just the beginning of a long legal process for Napolean's loved ones. The shooting was a stark reminder of the gun violence that has plagued many communities, leaving families to navigate a world irrevocably altered by loss.

In July 2020, a Dallas County grand jury returned an indictment against Rodkeithrick Hurry, formally charging him with capital murder in the death of Napolean Ivory. As the case proceeded through the judicial system, court records indicate that Hurry was later released on a $150,000 bond. The path to trial was marked by delays. A trial set to begin in April 2023 was postponed after Hurry's defense attorney filed a motion to withdraw from the case.

A new trial date was subsequently scheduled for August 2023. However, the final disposition of the charges against Rodkeithrick Hurry is not clear from publicly available records. As of the latest available information, the case was still pending within the Dallas County court system. For the family and friends of Napolean Myron Ivory, the wait for justice continues. They remember him not for the violent way he died, but for the life he lived—a funny young man and a legend in his neighborhood, gone far too soon. The investigation was handled by the Selma Police Department.