An update on Pickens Co. Death Investigation

Death Investigation

PICKENS COUNTY, AL. (WCBI) – A high-speed crash helps law enforcement make a quick arrest in a West Alabama homicide.

Now, 23-year-old Russell Douglas Beede of Fayette is charged with murder.

41-year-old Jackie Willis was shot to death outside of a home on Water Mill Road, in the Palmetto community of Pickens County, about 9-30 last night.

Investigators believe there are was some type of altercation before the gunfire.

District Attorney Andy Hamlin says Beede and Willis were visitors at the home where the shooting occurred.

Sheriff Jordan Powell says deputies were able to relay a vehicle description to dispatchers and surrounding law enforcement agencies.

About 15 minutes later a Lamar County deputy spotted that vehicle before it crashed. That’s when Beede was taken into custody.

Coroner Chad Harless said Willis will be taken to Montgomery for an autopsy.

Willis is from Lamar County.

Powell credited the collaboration between agencies for making the quick arrest.

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Categories: Crime, Local News