A 20-year-old man from Oxford is facing felony murder charges after his alleged accomplice was shot and killed during a botched robbery outside a Tuscaloosa apartment complex Saturday night. Daronte Collins now sits in the Tuscaloosa County Jail without bond as investigators continue probing the circumstances of 20-year-old Kurtae’vious Earl Tyson’s death.
Tuscaloosa police responded to a shooting report around 7:30 p.m. Saturday near the 1000 block of Investigator Dornell Cousette Street, according to ABC 33/40. Police responded after receiving a report that a shooting victim was being transported from the area toward DCH, but the actual crime scene turned out to be several blocks away in the parking lot of the Magnolia Apartments at 5621 Highway 69 South.
Investigators determined that Tyson and Collins had attempted to rob a 25-year-old Tuscaloosa resident in that parking lot. According to Tuscaloosa Thread, shots were exchanged and Tyson was fatally wounded. The 25-year-old intended victim was not identified, and no charges against him were announced as detectives continued piecing together the sequence of events.
Why Collins Faces Murder for His Partner's Death
Collins was charged with felony murder, first-degree robbery, attempted murder, and shooting into an occupied vehicle. The felony murder count stems from Alabama Code § 13A-6-2, which allows prosecutors to charge a person with murder when a death occurs during an attempted robbery or similar felony — even if the defendant didn't fire the fatal shot and the person killed was an accomplice, per the same Tuscaloosa Thread reporting.
That legal doctrine means Collins could be held responsible for Tyson's death even if Collins did not fire the fatal shot. The case also includes attempted murder and shooting-into-an-occupied-vehicle charges.
No Bond Under Aniah's Law
Collins is being held without bond in the Tuscaloosa County Jail under Aniah's Law, a 2022 constitutional amendment. The law was created in response to the 2019 kidnapping and murder of Aniah Blanchard by a suspect who was free on bond at the time.
Hoodline covered a kidnapping suspect caught at a gas station in Aliceville; he was granted bond.
A Multi-Agency Task Force Takes the Case
The investigation falls under the jurisdiction of the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit, a multi-agency task force originally formed in 1973 that holds exclusive authority over homicide investigations countywide, according to the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office. The unit pulls together personnel from the Tuscaloosa Police Department, the sheriff's office, Northport Police, and University of Alabama Police to investigate homicides and other major violent crimes across the county.
The unit worked over 721 cases in 2023.
Both Tyson and Collins were from Oxford, Alabama, while the shooting took place in Tuscaloosa. The case also involves Alabama's felony-murder law and Aniah's Law.
The Initial Police Response Location
The initial police response location was Investigator Dornell Cousette Street. Dornell Cousette died in 2019.
