Three people were convicted by a federal Alabama jury of murder-for-hire conspiracy and other charges involving shootings at two Mobile nightclubs and a Walmart two years ago, federal prosecutors said Friday.
The conspiracy, which did not kill the intended target but left several injured, including one person who was paralyzed, was orchestrated as retaliation for a previous killing, said Sean Costello, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama.
After a three-week trial, the jury in Mobile convicted John Fitzgerald McCarroll, Jr., 30, Darrius Dwayne Rowser, 20, and Lyteria Isheeia Hollis, 30, all of Mobile, on charges of murder-for-hire conspiracy, murder for hire, a carjacking conspiracy, interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle, evidence tampering, and witness tampering.
Under federal law, each defendant faces a mandatory life sentence.
Court documents and evidence that included text messages, social media, financial records and surveillance video showed McCarroll, helped by Hollis and others, directed payments to the would-be assassins, including Rowser and others, to carry out the intended murder.
The evidence showed the hired shooters tried but failed to kill the intended target during multiple nightclub shooting in 2022.
Reginald Dennis Alan Fluker, who previously pleaded guilty to the conspiracy, opened fire in the Bank Nightlife club in September 2022 using a gun given to him by McCarroll.
Fluker shot the wrong person, who later died of his injuries.
In November 2022, Rowser used a machinegun given to him by McCarroll to shoot at the intended target inside the Paparazzi Lounge in Mobile. Rowser likewise missed the target and instead hit four victims, one of whom was rendered paralyzed.
The evidence also showed that as part of the conspiracy, Rowser and others, at McCarroll’s direction, traveled to Mississippi to steal cars for use in surveilling the target of the plot.
In September 2022, during an attempted carjacking in D’Iberville, Mississippi, Rowser shot and killed a victim. As part of that murder, Rowser and a coconspirator traveled back to Mobile and burned the stolen car they were using during the attempted carjacking.
The evidence also showed that in December 2022, at McCarroll’s direction, Rowser and other co-conspirators traveled to the Walmart on I-65 Service Road South in Mobile to purchase a GPS tracker for the target’s vehicle.
During that trip, Rowser and a coconspirator opened fire into the self-checkout area of the store, striking two victims.
Finally, evidence showed that following the arrests of McCarroll, Fluker, and other members of the conspiracy, the defendants attempted to tamper with evidence and a witness.
Specifically, McCarroll directed Hollis to hide a weapon that he had previously purchased for Fluker because of Fluker’s participation in the murder plot. Federal agents seized that gun from Hollis’s house.
Additionally, the jury convicted McCarroll of attempting to tamper with Fluker’s testimony by having him sign a sham affidavit, which was filed in state court to earn McCarroll a bond from jail.
U.S. District Judge Terry F. Moorer scheduled sentencing for March 6.
