A jury trial date has been set for one of three men charged in connection with the shooting that killed 18-year-old Kimber Mills outside a Pinson gathering spot known as The Pit, while a second defendant is now asking a judge to treat his case differently because of his age at the time of the shooting. Silas McCay’s trial is scheduled for January 11, 2027, in Jefferson County Circuit Court, the same day a hearing is set to consider whether co-defendant Joshua Hunter McCulloch should receive youthful offender treatment.
The shooting happened October 19, 2025, at an area known as The Pit along Highway 75 North in Pinson, according to ABC 33/40. The station reports the shooting killed Mills and injured three other people. A separate account from AL.com dates the shooting to October 18, 2025, but says it happened at 12:20 a.m. Sunday, shortly before 1 a.m.; October 18 was a Saturday, so the account’s date and weekday do not align.
McCay and McCulloch are both charged with third-degree assault connected to the shooting, and both men were previously found guilty of that charge in district court. Rather than proceed with scheduled bench trials, the two men chose to stipulate for appeal, agreeing that sufficient evidence existed for the district court judge to enter guilty findings without holding full trials or hearing witness testimony. The move allowed their cases to move to circuit court for possible new jury trials. McCay went through the stipulation process in March 2026, while McCulloch followed in May 2026, per the same ABC 33/40 report.
McCulloch's Sentence and New Request
McCulloch was sentenced in district court to 180 days, with 30 days to serve and the remainder to be served on weekends. He was also ordered to complete six weeks of anger management and 40 hours of community service, the station’s report states. His appeal bond was set at $6,000, according to a separate ABC 33/40 report on the case.
McCulloch, who was 19 years old at the time of the shooting, filed a motion for youthful offender treatment on October 14. A hearing on that request has also been reported as scheduled for January 11, 2027 — the same date as McCay’s jury trial. Youthful offender status in Alabama can allow a case to be handled differently from standard adult prosecution, with potential sentencing benefits and confidentiality protections, though the outcome of McCulloch’s request has not been determined.
Whitehead Faces Murder and Attempted Murder Charges
The third defendant in the case, Steven Tyler Whitehead, faces one count of murder and three counts of attempted murder in connection to the shooting. Whitehead has a Stand Your Ground hearing scheduled for December 7, 2026, which will address his claim of immunity from prosecution under Alabama’s Stand Your Ground law, the report notes.
The cases against all three defendants remain pending in Jefferson County Circuit Court. No additional details about the outcome of McCulloch’s youthful offender request or the final disposition of Whitehead’s upcoming hearing have been reported.
