GRAND BAY, Ala. (WKRG) — A Mobile County Grand Jury is expected to decide if an overnight homicide is a case of self-defense.
A release from the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office reports that the deadly shooting that happened on Saturday morning involves a man with an “extensive violent crime history”.
Deputies were called to a home on Fred Freeland Road at around 12:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 29. Oliver Turner was found dead when deputies arrived.
The homeowner, 80-year-old Lee Eubanks was interviewed and told deputies Turner had been “drinking heavily and acting belligerently,” according to the release.
Deputies said Turner was a friend of Eubanks and had been staying at the home for the “past several days.”
Eubanks also told deputies Turner tried to set the home on fire with himself and two others inside including an 8-year-old.
Michelle Jones, one the people inside the home as well as the niece of Eubanks, shot and killed Turner, according to the release. She told deputies Turner was “acting belligerently” when she came home, and shortly after that, she saw the outside of the home on fire.
According to the release, Jones told deputies she tried to go to bed but Turner “dragged her from her bed attempting to pour acetone all over her inside a bathroom.”
At this point, Jones told deputies that she grabbed her eight-year-old daughter and put her inside her car. She then went back into the home to check on Eubanks and grab her gun “for protection.”
Jones then shot and killed Turner when he “advanced towards her,” according to the release. Deputies said Jones had scratch marks on her neck.
The release states that Turner’s violent crime history includes a 2021 arrest for 1st degree arson.
“The evidence located on scene, and Jones observe injuries were consistent with Jones statement,” reads the release.
This remains an ongoing investigation and will be presented to a grand jury at a later date.
