New Hearing Denied For Man Convicted In Fatal Shooting At Tuscaloosa Apartment Complex

TUSCALOOSA, AL — A Northport man serving prison time for his role in a 2021 fatal shooting at a Tuscaloosa apartment complex has been denied a new hearing in his appeal.

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The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday overruled a request by Charles Deandre Newton, Jr., who is serving a 20-year sentence at the Limestone Correctional Center for conspiracy to commit murder.

As Patch previously reported, Newton, who was 25 at the time of the shooting, was initially charged with murder in the killing of 23-year-old Kortnei Kelvontae Mills at The Legacy at Country Club Apartments on May 30, 2021.

Court documents obtained by Patch say that Tuscaloosa Police officers responding to the scene found Mills suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and medical personnel attempted life saving measures before he was pronounced dead.

Two crime scenes were then established — the first in front of apartment where Mills lived and the second where his body was located.

Investigators interviewed witnesses and obtained surveillance video that showed a group of individuals walking toward Mills' apartment minutes before the shooting.

One individual in the video can be seen walking with a rifle while another could be heard on audio identifying Mills' apartment and calling him by his first name.

Investigators also obtained surveillance video that showed Mills running away from his apartment.

Police said that soon after hiding behind a portion of fence, Mills was found a short distance from the fence, with a witness reporting seeing an individual wearing a red shirt shoot at Mills and then walk up to him after he fell and shoot him while he was laying on the ground.

Newton was eventually identified as the individual wearing the red shirt, while other witnesses reported seeing the entire group flee the apartment complex in vehicles.

A jury did not find Newton guilty of murder but did hand down a guilty verdict on conspiracy to commit murder, with more details of the case coming out at trial.

The shooting stemmed from the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Graham in Snow Hinton Park the day before the shooting that killed Mills. Testimony at trial confirmed that Graham's suspected killer and Mills were close friends, while Graham was a close friend of Newton and his sister, Chakyla Deambri Scarbrough.

A witness testified that they saw Mills running away from his apartment — reportedly being chased by a group — before he was shot in the heel and went to the ground. At least one person testified that Mills was armed when they saw him running from the group.

That same witness said a man matching Newton's description and brandishing a rifle came up to Mills as he lay on the ground and shot him multiple times at close range.

Newton was reportedly in a group with several people, including his sister, and they were seen leaving The Legacy in multiple vehicles. Newton and his sister were quickly identified as suspects and charged with murder.

Newton will not be eligible for parole until Feb. 1, 2028 and his earliest release date with the Alabama Department of Corrections is tentatively set for June 2, 2041.

Scarbrough was also arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the shooting death of Kourtnei Mills.

Scarbrough was sentenced in 2023 to five years in prison for manslaughter and two years for second degree assault, with the sentences to be serve consecutively.

Her earliest release date from Tutwiler Prison is currently set for July 27, 2028.

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