Northport man charged with murder after robbery accomplice killed (Alabama)

A Northport man was charged with murder Wednesday after his friend was shot and killed by a would-be victim.

Investigators say that the actions of Rashad Drakkar Hayward, 20, led to death of Christopher Antonio Collins, 18. Police said that Hayward and Collins tried to rob and shoot a man who ended up shooting Collins with his own gun on Tuesday night.

“He is being charged based on his participation in the act of robbery that resulted in the death of his co-conspirator,” said Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit Capt. Loyd Baker.

“This is a case where the perpetrator became a victim,” said Chief Robert Green.

Police say that Gerald Bertrand, 23, shot Christopher Antonio Collins after Collins, 18, robbed and threatened to kill him.

Bertrand arrived at his home at 3405 18th Street at 9:35 p.m., Green said. He was walking inside with a pizza when two masked men ran toward him from across the street, he said.

One of the masked men blocked the side carport door to the house and pointed a gun at Bertrand, Green said. They got into a physical fight that spilled over into Bertrand's front yard. He was able to break free and run to a neighbor's house, where he knocked loudly on the door and yelled to call the police.

The man with the gun approached him a second time and demanded money. Bertrand handed over $70. The gunman pointed the gun in Bertrand's face and said that he was still going to shoot him, and indicated that he was angry because Bertrand had had sex with one of his relatives, Green said.

Bertrand's mother opened the door to their house and distracted the gunman, giving Bertrand a chance to grab the gun and shoot Collins in the chest, he said.

Hayward ran away. Investigators found him Wednesday walking on West Circle, near where the robbery and shooting occurred.

Bertrand was treated for lacerations and a head wound from being hit with the gun. He was interviewed and released by Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit investigators.

Bertrand declined to speak to reporters at his home this morning.

Hayward was charged with first-degree robbery and felony murder. He was in the Tuscaloosa County Jail Wednesday with bail set at $75,000 for the murder charge and $60,000 for the robbery charge.

The first trial in Alabama that charged a co-conspirator with murder was held in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court in 2008. A jury found Jamie Witherspoon, now 27, guilty of murder after his friend Eric Baggett was killed by a Raceway convenience store clerk the two had robbed at gunpoint in 2005. Witherspoon is serving a 35-year sentence in state prison.

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20100428/NEWS/100429508/1007?p=2&tc=pg

Good for the good guy.

this seems application of the felony murder law, while common, in my oppinion is a wrong application.

> Investigators say that the actions of Rashad Drakkar Hayward, 20, led to death of Christopher Antonio Collins, 18.

This is not correct. The actions of Christopher led to the death of Christopher. Had he not participated in the attack, he would not be dead.

Thankfully, the Good Guy survived.