Teen murdered two women because one bumped his foot: Document

“He deserves to be punished as an adult,” District Attorney Russ Goodman said on Thursday, one day after a judge ordered Oliver’s juvenile status removed.
Among the youngest capital murder suspects ever in Alabama, a 14-year-old Dothan boy will likely spend the remainder of his life behind bars.
Published: May. 18, 2023 at 9:35 PM CDT
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DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) - Houston County’s top prosecutor plans to pursue life without parole for 14-year-old Vincent Oliver, Jr., who court documents reveal killed two women because one of them bumped his foot.

“He deserves to be punished as an adult,” District Attorney Russ Goodman said on Thursday, one day after a judge ordered Oliver’s juvenile status removed.

The documents obtained by News4 paint a troubling snapshot of his life, and he will likely forever lose his freedom because, according to police, he shot two young women last November.

Life without parole is the only option if Oliver is convicted of Capital Murder, and Goodman said he doesn’t plan to mitigate the two charges.

Related: 14-year-old case accentuates Alabama’s inconsistent laws

The documents reveal Oliver confessed to police that he killed Jasmine Danielle Bean and Ja’Lexius Lason Wells, 21 and 20 respectively. Each was shot once in the head, a forensics report concluded.

Related: Murdered woman’s mother to teen suspect: I forgive you.

The recap of a recent court hearing revealed that he fired the shots because one of those victims either “hit or struck” his sore foot.

His adult certification this week appears to make Oliver among the youngest---if not the most youthful--Capital Murder defendant in Alabama history.

Nobody can face that charge until they reach 14, which Oliver did a couple of months before the shootings.

“Defendants are getting younger and younger,” Goodman told News4, blaming broken homes and lack of parental supervision as contributors to what he sees as a serious problem.

In his order, Houston County Judge Henry D. “Butch” Binford said no juvenile court services would benefit Oliver.

During testimony, a juvenile probation officer told Binford that Oliver’s behavior was out of control.

The officer believes the teen, known by the street name “Thirty,” had no desire to mend his ways and testified his parents were unsupportive of their son.

Social media photos released by Dothan Police during their manhunt for Oliver showed him holding high-powered weapons.

Social media photos released by Dothan Police during their manhunt for Oliver (pictured) showed...
Social media photos released by Dothan Police during their manhunt for Oliver (pictured) showed him holding high-powered weapons.(Dothan Police Department)

He was on the run on other violent charges, including shooting into an occupied vehicle, police said.

“It’s tragic to see a young man throw his life away in such a brutal manner,” Goodman said.

Houston County Sheriff Donald Valenza said he would comply with Binford’s order to transfer Oliver to the Houston County Jail, where he becomes the youngest inmate in the lockup’s history.

Oliver’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment.

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