Jury Issues Result In Mistrial For Tuscaloosa County Man Accused Of Killing Ex In 2021

TUSCALOOSA, AL — A Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court judge on Thursday granted a motion for a mistrial in the case of a Tuscaloosa County man accused of shooting and killing his ex-girlfriend in 2021.

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As Patch previously reported, the body of Syibrieka Underwood, 27, was found in the passenger seat vehicle off Highway 82 in Duncanville on July 25, 2021. A state trooper discovered she had died of a gunshot wound.

Investigators then charged her former boyfriend, Terek Herron-Antone, with murder and felon in possession of a firearm.

In court documents obtained by Patch on Thursday, Circuit Court Judge Allen May considered the defense's motion for a mistrial due to issues with certain jurors selected.

The order issued Thursday say 12 jurors and two alternate jurors were selected on
Tuesday, May 7, with the trial commencing that day.

After the trial began and just prior to opening statements, a juror was excused for health reasons.

However, court documents say later in the trial, a juror was dismissed for improper contact with the victim's family, and after deliberations had begun. This was followed by a second juror being dismissed for improper communications about the case with a third party.

Defense attorney Stuart Albea motioned for a mistrial after seeing a previous motion denied earlier in the week and the state was unopposed as the trial had only 11 jurors remaining and no available alternates.

While unrelated to his most recent charges, it's worth noting that Herron-Antone has an extensive criminal record with violent offenses.

According to court documents previously obtained by Patch, Herron-Antone was also convicted in connection to a shooting in December 2012 at a Mapco gas station on Oscar Baxter Drive that left one man critically injured.

In that case, investigators believe he drove the vehicle involved in the shooting and provided a gun to one of the shooters.

Herron-Antone went on to plead guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and was sentenced to 71 months in prison.

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