High-profile felony suspect, Ibraheem Yazeed, charged with murder in 2018 Montgomery cold case

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - The Montgomery County Cold Case Unit has handed down a new murder charge for Ibraheem Yazeed in a 2018 homicide. He’s charged with shooting Stephen Hamby to death in a wooded area off Maxwell Boulevard near the Salvation Army.

District Attorney Daryl Bailey says on Dec. 1, 2018, Stephen Hamby and Geraldine Talley, who were both homeless at the time of the shooting, were shot multiple times. Hamby was pronounced dead on the scene. Talley was shot in the face and recovered, later dying of natural causes.

Investigators cite newly-discovered witnesses and the re-examination of evidence collected at the scene developed Yazeed as a suspect in Hamby's murder.

“There is a sense of peace that he will not be able to harm anybody else’s child,” said Angela Weldon, Hamby’s mother.

Yazeed is charged with two counts of capital murder and first-degree kidnapping in the high-profile case involving victim Aniah Blanchard. Blanchard was last seen Oct 23 at a convenience store on South College Street in Auburn. Court documents reveal Yazeed was seen forcing Blanchard into a vehicle against her will. Blanchard’s remains were located in rural Macon County Nov. 25. The cases will be heard by a grand jury. Prosecutors will seek the death penalty.

At the time of Blanchard’s death, Yazeed was out on bond for attempted murder, two counts of first-degree kidnapping and two counts first degree robbery in Montgomery following an incident in February 2019. The victim in this case was nearly beat to death. This case has also been forwarded to grand jury. Yazeed is expected to face prosecution in Lee County first.

The Montgomery Cold Case Unit also arrested Del Juan Smith, who has been charged with the 2016 murder of Rafael Montiel-Perez. Montiel-Perez was struck and killed when multiple bullets were fired into his car as he drove down the 600 block of North Pass Road. Smith is serving five years in the Fountain Correctional Center on an unrelated robbery charge.

“Due to the hard work of the Montgomery County Cold Case Task Force, two murders have been solved and two alleged murderers will be brought to justice,” Bailey stated. “Because of this Task Force, these victims’ families now will be able to see justice in a courtroom. I am very proud of the work of the investigators in the Cold Case Unit. Because of this collaborative unit, these two cases are just the tip of the iceberg of cases that will be solved.”

Bailey highlighted the work of Deputy District Attorney Damon Lewis, who leads the unit, and investigators Guy Naquin and Anthony Shannon, “Who tirelessly pursued and followed up on new leads that led to the arrest warrants for Yazeed and Smith.”

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