A Perry County grand jury has indicted a Faunsdale man on a murder charge in connection with the fatal shooting of a woman in Uniontown in late March, upgrading the case from the original charge of manslaughter.
Deandre Brandell Langhorne, 33, of Willie Moss Road, Faunsdale, was indicted on April 21 by a Perry County grand jury on one count of murder, a Class A felony, in the death of Erika Latavia Latham. The indictment was filed in Perry County Circuit Court on May 4.
The indictment charges that Langhorne did intentionally cause the death of Latham by shooting her with a firearm. Bail was set at no bond.
The charge represents an escalation from the original manslaughter complaint filed in Perry County District Court on March 31. That complaint, sworn by Agent Zachary Sievering, alleged that Langhorne, on or about March 29 at approximately 1:41 a.m., did recklessly cause Latham’s death by shooting a 9mm handgun multiple times, striking her.
The distinction between the two charges turns on intent: manslaughter under Alabama law involves recklessly causing a death, while murder requires that the killing be intentional.
Langhorne was originally arrested on the manslaughter charge on March 31 and released the same day on $30,000 bond through a professional bonding company. He was appointed counsel, attorney William Allison Holmes, and a preliminary hearing on the manslaughter case had been set for May 13.
Following the grand jury’s action, Langhorne was re-arrested on May 1 on the murder indictment. As of May 4, Perry County Circuit Court records listed his status as jailed with no bond. An Aniah’s Law hearing was set for Wednesday, May 14, at 1:30 p.m.
