A Jefferson County circuit judge has granted $100,000 bond to a 20-year-old man charged with capital murder in the January 2025 shooting death of a Tarrant man outside his own home, more than a year after an earlier version of the charge was thrown out for lack of evidence. Javaris Durome Russell is accused in the killing of Buford Troman “Pete” White, a 36-year-old concrete finisher and musician who was gunned down on Mountain Drive.
Judge Grants Bond Over State's Objection
Circuit Judge Alaric May set Russell's bond at $100,000 on Monday, November 2, after taking the matter under advisement following an October bond hearing, according to AL.com. May wrote in his ruling that “the defendant's motion to set bond is hereby granted over the state's objection,” according to the outlet's reporting. If Russell posts bond, he will be required to wear electronic monitoring under a 24/7 lockdown, allowed to leave home only for meetings with his attorneys, approved medical appointments, and court appearances.
Russell was booked into the Jefferson County Jail on June 28, 2026, and has been held without bond since that date, per the same report. His bond hearing took place in October, and both Russell and co-defendant Eddie Bernard Jordan Jr. are seeking youthful offender status in the case.
A Dismissed Charge, Then a Grand Jury Indictment
The case against Russell has not followed a straight line. A capital murder charge was initially dismissed in June 2025 by District Judge William Bell, who ruled there was not enough probable cause to proceed, the station's report notes. After the dismissal, the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office took the case to a grand jury, which indicted both Russell and Jordan earlier this year.
Russell's attorneys have argued he did not know anyone was going to be killed that night, per the same account. Police have said Russell drove Jordan, the alleged shooter, to White's Tarrant home on the night of the killing.
White Was Targeted, Police Say
White was shot at about 7 p.m. on January 22, 2025, on Mountain Drive and was pronounced dead at the scene at 7:33 p.m., according to AL.com's reporting. He was struck three times in the chest. A neighbor told police White had exited his vehicle after backing into his driveway when someone opened fire.
Tarrant Police Chief Wendell Major said investigators believe White was targeted and that at least 15 shots were fired during the attack. Police also found money and illegal drugs at the scene. White worked with his father as a concrete finisher and was also a musician and songwriter, according to the outlet.
Co-Defendant Faces a Second Homicide Charge
Jordan, who is also charged with capital murder in White's killing, was initially arrested on April 23, 2025, after a foot chase, AL.com reports. Birmingham police officers had taken him to UAB Hospital for evaluation of a possible foot-chase injury, and he reportedly ran from the hospital at 9:38 p.m. in the 1800 block of Sixth Avenue South while undergoing an X-ray. He was recaptured in Greene County on May 6, 2025.
Jordan is also charged in the separate February 5, 2025, shooting death of 22-year-old Demarious Antwon Cherry in Birmingham's Kingston community, a case detailed in AL.com's coverage of his indictments. Reporting on the timeline of Russell's initial arrest has varied: WBRC has reported that U.S. Marshals first took Russell into custody on February 28, 2025, while AL.com's account places his arrest in late April 2025. The discrepancy has not been independently resolved.
