Mom who was fatally shot texted suspect's name to friend in final moments

A suspect in a 2024 triple homicide has appeared in court after one of his alleged victims texted his name to a friend in her final moments of life.

Jacorian Deshawn McGregor, whose nickname is Jaco, appeared before Jefferson County District Judge William Bell for a preliminary hearing on April 17, when Birmingham homicide Det. Jarvelius Tolliver appeared as a witness.

During his testimony, Tolliver detailed the final moment of Arkia Berry, her son, Landyn Brooks, and her boyfriend, Eric Ashley Jr., who were killed by gunfire inside a car at Echo Highlands Park in Birmingham, Alabama on July 13, 2024.

Police arrived at the scene after receiving a 911 call, and found that the car appeared to have jumped a curb. It was riddled with bullet holes, and all three victims were dead inside.

Police investigated the victims' phones and surveillance footage (Getty Stock Photo)

During the investigation, officers looked at surveillance footage from the area which showed a lime green Kia Soul entering the neighborhood at 5:07pm. One minute later, the Nissan carrying Berry, her son and her boyfriend arrived.

According to cell phone data recovered from Berry's phone, she texted the word 'Jaco' at 5:09pm.

At 5:10pm, footage showed the Kia fleeing the neighborhood at a high rate of speed, Tolliver told the court, adding: “No other cars came out after that."

Ashley's last phone activity also involved a call to a contact saved as 'Jaco', which took place at 5:08pm. He had also made a call earlier that day to a contact he had saved as 'Jac' - a contact that was determined to be Jacorian McGregor, Tolliver said, per AL.com.

Messages obtained by the police allegedly showed Ashley and McGregor were planning to meet up, and Tolliver claimed both Ashley and McGregor's phones pinged the same cell phone tower in the area of the shooting at the time the crime took place.

Berry was in the car with her son and boyfriend (Davenport & Harris)

When questioned by McGregor’s attorney, John Robbins, Tolliver said there was no video showing anyone shooting from the Kia, and admitted there was no physical evidence connecting McGregor to the Kia.

Tolliver noted that Berry had 'texted [McGregor's] name right before she died', however, Robbins hit back: “That doesn’t mean he was the shooter."

Following the detective's testimony, Deputy District Attorney Charissa Henrichs told the judge she believed there was enough evidence for the case to proceed, but Robbins disagreed.

“The state’s case is somewhat suspect and based upon circumstantial evidence,” the defence argued, adding: “We will certainly welcome to put this circumstantial evidence case to the test of the jury when we get to that point.”