By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Capital murder, attempted murder, theft and robbery charges against a 20-year-old Birmingham man who police believe was involved in a 2015 Alabaster carjacking are headed to a jury trial in early 2018, according to Jefferson County Circuit Court documents.

In October, Jefferson County Judge Virginia Vinson scheduled the trial against Jamarlon Odasbua Edwards to begin on March 19, 2018, at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Birmingham.

In June 2016, a Jefferson County grand jury returned a four-count indictment against Edwards, upholding charges of capital murder, attempted murder, first-degree robbery and first-degree theft of property against him.

On Nov. 23, 2015, the Alabaster Police Department charged Edwards with counts of first-degree robbery and first-degree theft of property tied to the Nov. 9, 2015, incident. APD also charged the suspect with counts of second-degree robbery and second-degree assault tied to a previous armed robbery of an elderly victim in Alabaster.

During the Alabaster carjacking, victim Tyler Parsons said two black males pulled up in a red 2005 Dodge Charger and began asking him about his car. Parsons said one of the males approached his car and began asking questions.

When he showed one of the men his keys, the suspect pulled a gun and stole Parsons’ vehicle, he said. According to the APD incident report, the suspects stole Parsons’ $30,000 vehicle, a $600 Glock pistol in the center console and a $700 iPhone. Parsons’ car was totaled in a police pursuit in Ensley the following day.

The Alabaster carjacking came a few days after the Birmingham Police Department said Edwards played a role in the Nov. 7, 2015, shooting death of a 27-year-old man.

According to Birmingham police, the shooting happened in Pratt City shortly before 4 p.m. on Nov. 7, 2015. During the incident, the victim, 27-year-old Justin Poole, was driving his Buick when he stopped in the roadway.

“A white Dodge Charger pulled up next to him and someone exited the Charger and fired several shots into the victim’s vehicle,” read a BPD press release. “According to witnesses, the victim tried to leave the location but ran into an abandoned house two blocks away. The Charger fled the scene in the opposite direction.”