Two men are in custody after police say they entered an occupied Selma, Alabama, home armed with guns on Oct. 15, and one of them is now also charged in connection with a shooting into an occupied daycare less than a week later. Antwone Tower, 21, and J’Quell Neeley, 22, each face a first-degree burglary charge tied to the home invasion, while Neeley alone faces additional charges stemming from the Oct. 21 daycare shooting.
According to WSFA, officers responded to the 400 block of Martin Luther King Street on Oct. 15 after a report that Tower and Neeley had entered an occupied home armed with guns and stole property. No injuries were reported in that incident, the station said. Both men were taken into custody and charged with first-degree burglary.
Daycare Gunfire Reported Six Days Later
Six days after the home invasion, Selma police responded to the 1500 block of Selma Avenue on Oct. 21 after receiving a report of shots fired into an occupied daycare, the station's report notes. No injuries were reported in that shooting either, according to ABC 33/40. The investigation into the gunfire ultimately led police back to Neeley, the same man already charged in the home-invasion case.
That investigation led to Neeley's arrest on charges of discharging a firearm into an occupied building and into an unoccupied vehicle, per the same account. WAKA 8 separately reported that officers made the arrest at the daycare center in the 1500 block of Selma Avenue, with Neeley facing charges for firing a gun into an occupied building and firing into an unoccupied vehicle, as WAKA 8 reported. ABC 33/40 noted that Neeley, like any defendant, is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
What Alabama Law Says About the Charges
The burglary charge against both Tower and Neeley falls under Alabama's first-degree burglary statute, which the Alabama Legislature's Code of Alabama § 13A-7-5 defines as knowingly and unlawfully entering or remaining in a dwelling with intent to commit a crime, combined with an additional condition tied to the entry or the offender's presence in the dwelling or its immediate vicinity. Section 13A-11-61 is titled Discharging firearm, etc., into occupied or unoccupied building, etc., prohibited; penalty, according to the Alabama Legislature's Code of Alabama § 13A-11-61.
Police have not detailed a motive for either incident, nor identified the occupants of the home or the daycare involved. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Selma Police Department Criminal Investigations Division at 334-874-5894 or CrimeStoppers at 334-215-STOP (7867).
