New Hearing Denied For Man Convicted In 2019 Northport Shootout

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday overruled a request for a new hearing from a man serving prison time for instigating a 2019 shootout in Northport.

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Mikheal Christopher Gilliam is serving five concurrent 20-year terms in the Elmore Correctional Facility for attempted murder and shooting into an occupied vehicle after being sentenced by Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Pruet in January 2023.

Alabama Department of Corrections records say Gilliam will not be eligible for parole until Feb. 1, 2038, with his minimum release date set for Jan. 1, 2043.

Gilliam is represented by Northport attorney Gary Lee Blume.

As Patch previously reported, Gilliam was accused of instigating a shootout on June 14, 2019, at the corner of McFarland Boulevard and Highway 43 where more than 30 rounds were fired near Northport City Hall.

Northport Police officers first responded to the strip mall at 3617 McFarland Boulevard after two men were reported to be shooting at each other near the busy intersection on a Friday afternoon at approximately 4 p.m.

Witnesses later told police that one vehicle had pulled in behind another in the parking lot, and the two drivers were talking to each other before they both started shooting.

At the time of the exchange, three people were in the vehicle Gilliam was accused of shooting into — two adults and a 15-year-old juvenile.

Fortunately, there were no injuries reported in the shooting.

Gilliam was 22 years old when he was identified as a suspect and charged with three counts of attempted murder and two counts of shooting into an occupied vehicle.

Prosecutors with the Tuscaloosa County District Attorney's Office requested three concurrent 30-year sentences for the attempted murder charges and two 20-year sentences for the Class B felonies, also to have be served concurrently.

Instead, Gilliam entered an open plea to the charges and received the five 20-year terms to run concurrently, along with being denied probation.

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