Cordova Man Charged With Capital Murder

BIRMINGHAM, AL - A 66-year-old man who claimed to have been a victim of a robbery has been arrested charged with capital murder. On July 3, Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies responded to a report of a person having been shot at a business in the 7100 block of old Jasper Highway. They arrived to find two people suffering from gunshot wounds. 20-year-old Carlos Danyell Cole was pronounced dead on the scene. 66-year-old Kenneth Delvin Rhodes suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen and was taken to an area hospital. Deputies learned that a third man had fled the scene on foot. He was located walking nearby.

Rhodes told investigators that he had been at his business when two men in a gold car pulled up to rob him. He and his security guard exchanged gunfire with the men. Over the course of the investigation, detectives discovered evidence that indicated that the claim of an attempted robbery was false. Detectives learned that Rhodes was operating an illegal gambling establishment at the address. Two weeks prior to the shooting the business was robbed at gunpoint by two men in a gold car. (For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Birmingham Patch morning newsletter.)

On the day of the shooting, Carlos Cole and a friend went to the business to gamble. They never made it to the building because they thought they were at the wrong place. They turned around to leave. Rhodes and a security guard blocked them in and pointed guns at them. Gunshots were exchanged and both Carlos Cole and Kenneth Rhodes were struck.

On September 27, Sheriff’s detectives reviewed their investigation with the District Attorney’s office and obtained an arrest warrant charging Rhodes with capital murder. He was arrested yesterday afternoon and remains in the Jefferson County Jail with no bond. The investigation is ongoing and additional charges are expected against others involved.

Photo from Jefferson County Sheriff's Department