A Jefferson County jury found Javier Brykese Burney not guilty this week in the 2023 road-rage shooting death of Joseph Keith Alexander, closing out a case that had kept Burney behind bars for more than three years while he awaited trial on a capital murder charge. Burney had maintained all along that he fired the fatal shot in self-defense.
Burney went on trial Monday before Jefferson County Circuit Judge Michael Streety, according to AL.com. The outlet reported that a Jefferson County jury found him not guilty in Alexander's slaying, bringing an end to the more than three years Burney spent in jail since his arrest.
Burney's attorney, Emory Anthony, said he was happy his client declined to take a plea deal. Anthony said Burney believed he had done nothing wrong beyond defending himself, and the attorney added that he was saddened for the Alexander family, per the same report.
How the Confrontation Unfolded on Narrows Road
The case traced back to an encounter on Narrows Road in northeastern Jefferson County. Jefferson County sheriff's deputies were called to the Palmerdale Fire Department on Bradford Trafford Road at about 2:45 p.m. on May 16, 2023, about a shooting, the article notes. The shooting itself occurred in the 7400 block of Narrows Road.
According to officials and Jefferson County deputies cited by WVTM 13, Alexander and a passenger had noticed a vehicle following them closely, and both drivers eventually pulled over, with Alexander approaching the other driver before the two began to argue. WBRC reported that the driver of the second vehicle shot Alexander after the argument, with Burney firing a shot that struck him in the abdomen.
Alexander was taken to UAB Hospital. Accounts differ on how long he survived his injuries: the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said at the time that he died from his injuries a few days after the shooting, while WVTM 13 and Alexander's obituary indicate he died nearly one month later, on June 12, 2023. Alexander was 54 years old.
From Person of Interest to No-Bond Capital Charge
Burney was initially identified as a person of interest in the shooting before being named the suspect, the sheriff's office said. Detectives obtained a warrant for attempted murder against him on May 19, 2023, three days after the shooting, a charge that was later elevated once Alexander died.
He was apprehended in the 300 block of Morgan Road near Bessemer and booked into the Jefferson County Jail in Birmingham at about 7:45 a.m., according to the sheriff's office. He was held on a capital murder charge that carried no bond, and he also faced several failure-to-appear charges that likewise carried no bond, per the same agency. AL.com's account of the trial identified him as 29.
A Family Remembers a Father and Grandfather
Alexander's obituary, published through Dignity Memorial, described him as a loving son, brother and father who worked for Ingle Demolition and Salvage, Inc. He enjoyed working on cars, building model cars, playing pool and boating with friends, and cherished spending time with his grandchildren.
With the verdict now in, Burney's more than three-year wait for trial has ended. The jury's decision closes the criminal case against him in Alexander's death.
