Shooting Suspect Caught With 40 Pounds Of Marijuana

BIRMINGHAM, AL - A suspect in the 2016 shooting that injured a Jefferson County Sheriff's deputy was arrested Saturday in a California airport with 40 pounds of marijuana in a suitcase. Dejuan Rashad Dedrick, 27, is charged with attempted murder in the shooting of Deputy Jeremy Comans, who on June 30, 2016, took three AR-15 rounds to his right knee during a drug raid. Dedrick, who was out on bond, was not supposed to leave the state.

The incident occurred January 20, according to a report by Alabama Media Group. Sgt. Derek Green, public information officer for the Burbank Police Department, said an adult male passenger checked two suitcases on a Delta Airlines flight originating in Burbank with a final destination of Birmingham. Just prior to departure and during final comparisons with a passenger manifest, it was determined that the man associated with these two suitcases had not boarded the aircraft, Green said. Attempts were made to locate the passenger but were not successful.

The suitcases were held and sent through additional security screening measures. Both suitcases were found to contain a large quantity of marijuana.

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The following day, the man who had checked the luggage reportedly returned to the Hollywood Burbank Airport to retrieve the suitcases. It was also learned the man used someone else’s identity to book the flight and to check-in, Green said. Dedrick was placed under arrest before being booked into the Burbank City Jail on suspicion of transporting marijuana.

The Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office on Jan. 22 filed a motion to revoke Dedrick’s release on bond in the shooting of Comans, noting his arrest in Burbank. Jefferson County Circuit Judge Michael Streety that same day granted the motion and ordered a writ of arrest for Dedrick.

Dedrick and three others - Antuan Cornell Riggs, Antaurean Markese Riggs and Stephen Lamar Gadson – were all arrested within days of the 2016 shooting and later released on bond. They have still not gone to trial.

Dedrick’s bond was set at $200,000 and he was released from the Jefferson County Jail on Feb. 22, 2017. The conditions of his release included electronic monitoring.

Photo via Jefferson County Sheriff's Office