Brundidge, Ala. (WDNews) — A Pike County jury has found a man guilty of murder in connection to a 2022 shooting that left one person dead at a local park.
According to court records, a jury was selected on April 8, 2026, in the Circuit Court of Pike County for the case of State v. Zakevin Pennington. The trial began April 13, with Deputy District Attorney Ternisha Jones representing the state. Circuit Judge Jeff Kelley presided over the case.
Testimony presented in court showed that on June 12, 2022, Jalen Harris was at the basketball courts at Galloway Park in Brundidge when an argument broke out. Police were initially called to the scene for disorderly conduct, but left after the situation was brought under control.
Shortly after officers left, gunfire erupted.
Investigators and eyewitnesses testified that Pennington fired nine rounds from a 9mm firearm from more than 90 feet away, striking Harris in the chest. Harris died at the scene from his injuries.
Authorities said Pennington fled the park following the shooting but later turned himself in.
After about three hours of deliberation, the jury returned a guilty verdict on the charge of murder.
District Attorney James Tarbox said, “I am so grateful for the work of the Brundidge Police Department and Deputy District Attorney Jones in prosecuting this case. Because of their hard work, the family of Jalen Harris was able to hear the verdict of ‘guilty’ after waiting almost four years since the death of their loved one.”
Tarbox added, “This case is yet another example of young people resorting to gun violence as a way of solving disagreements. All too often people use firearms in an attempt to solve their problems and the result is now at least two families broken- the family of Jalen Harris because he is no longer with them, and the family of Defendant Pennington because he will be in prison.”
The District Attorney’s Office also credited the Brundidge Police Department, the Pike County Coroner’s Office, and the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for their work on the case.
Pennington remains in custody at the Pike County Sheriff’s Office and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 23.