By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

COLUMBIANA – A 29-year-old Alabaster man who has been charged with allegedly attempting to shoot and kill a victim on two separate 2014 occasions has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and has been granted a speedy trial, according to Shelby County Circuit Court documents.

Jamel Kentrae Hall, who lists an address on Fifth Avenue Southeast in Alabaster, entered pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect to two attempted murder charges on Nov. 10.

A Shelby County grand jury during its October session returned a three-count indictment against Hall. The indictment upheld two felony charges of attempted murder and one misdemeanor count of unlawful possession of a firearm.

After receiving Hall’s not guilty pleas, Circuit Court Judge Dan Reeves granted Hall’s request for a speedy trial. He is now set to appear in court at 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 2, 2016.

The Alabaster Police Department, with the help of the U.S. Marshals Service, arrested Hall at his Alabaster residence at about 11:45 a.m. on June 10, 2014, and charged him with the two felony counts of attempted murder.

At the time of the arrest, Alabaster Police Chief Curtis Rigney said Hall was “on the run” from police after he heard officers were looking for him, and said the U.S. Marshals Service was “instrumental” in locating the suspect.

Hall allegedly shot and seriously injured a male victim while the victim was driving a vehicle on May 31, Rigney said. The suspect knew the victim in the case, Rigney said. The victim did not suffer life-threatening injuries in the shooting.

According to Hall’s arrest warrant, the victim was shot twice in the thigh during the May 31 incident. On June 6, Hall allegedly “shot at the victim while (the victim) was driving an automobile,” which led to Hall’s second attempted murder charge.

During both incidents, Hall allegedly “attempt(ed) to intentionally cause the death” of the victim by shooting him with a .25-caliber handgun, which Hall did not legally have the right to possess.