Alabama man captured in Lawrence County following 2016 murder found guilty

Alabama man captured in Lawrence County following 2016 murder found guilty

Lawrenceburg Now

An Alabama man fleeing from law enforcement officers in March of 2016 in the wake of a murder, who was subsequently captured in Lawrence County, was found guilty of the crime on Wednesday.

Florence resident Benjamin Owen Young, age 30, stood trial in Colbert County, Alabama in connection to the March 4, 2016 death of nineteen year old Ki-Jana Freeman of Tuscumbia.

A second victim, seventeen year old Tyler Blythe, sustained injuries in the shooting, as well. Young allegedly opened fire into a car in which the young women were sitting, at a Tuscumbia apartment complex.

Following the shooting, Young fled from authorities and was pursued from Muscle Shoals, across the state line, and into Iron City. The pursuit ended when Young crashed his vehicle in Loretto.

He was incarcerated locally on charges of aggravated assault on a police officer, reckless endangerment and evading arrest. He was also charged with theft after authorities learned that the vehicle he was driving had been reported as stolen out of Florence.

After listening to testimony, jurors found Young guilty on charges of capital murder, first-degree assault, and shooting into an occupied vehicle. At sentencing, Young faces either life in prison without the possibility of parole, or the death penalty. Prosecutors have expressed their intent to seek the death penalty.