The case of a Birmingham teen who murdered an ambitious Kenyan entrepreneur has been sent to a Jefferson County grand jury.
The teen, Chandler Jacoby Bryant, 18, appeared before a Jefferson County Circuit Judge on Wednesday for hearing following the murder of Mike Mulwa in June 2017.
Detectives from the Birmingham police leading the investigations testified Wednesday during the preliminary hearing that saw the Judge sending the case over to the grand jury.
Mike Mulwa, also known as Mike Ngangi, died from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. He was shot during a robbery at a gas station that he owned in Birmingham Alabama.
”Days after the shooting, a man came forward to police and said he and two other friends had seen Bryant while walking to another gas station. While the man was inside the gas station store, he said Bryant told his two friends he robbed and shot Ngangi. Police interviewed those two friends, who told the same story. One of those men told officers Bryant showed him the small-caliber gun he claimed to have used in the robbery. Rogers said Bryant told the men, “I was the one who shot that guy, don’t tell anyone” reports al.com, an Alabama news website.
During the hearing on Wednesday, detective Rodney Rodgers testified before the court, saying that the suspect told them that he owed $500 to a man named “Polo” for drugs and that Pollo had threatened to kill him if he did not urgently pay him. The suspect told detectives that he robbed Mike at Citgo to get the money, shot him, and fled the scene.
Mike was 29 and was from Acworth, Georgia.
“His ambition and thirst for success led him to open a cultural clothing line, 254, and he traversed the country selling his merchandise to his Kenyan-American target market during major sporting events,” said his cousin Sukulu as quoted by al.com.
Judge Todd ordered the suspect to remain in custody without bond.
