Suspect in Friday Tuscaloosa Murder Caught 200 Miles Away

The Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit can boast another quick resolution to a local homicide after a suspect in a deadly Friday shooting was captured 200 miles away in Mississippi.

As the Thread first reported, Tuscaloosa Police and the VCU were called to a car detailing shop on Skyland Boulevard at 4:15 on Friday, where Kennedy said 42-year-old Roy Lamar Curry Jr. was found shot several times.

Curry did not survive life-saving measures and died at the scene.

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Kennedy said Curry worked at the detailing shop and witnesses told police that a former employee, 22-year-old Tyshawn Laquan Thompson, returned to the shop Friday afternoon and shot Curry for unknown motives.

The VCU acted quickly and obtained warrants for Thompson, who Cyber Intelligence officers determined to be in a stolen vehicle traveling west through Mississippi.

"Local agents with the US Marshall's Task Force were activated, and working with their partner agencies in the State of Mississippi while receiving real time intelligence from the Cyber Unit, were able to narrow down, and then locate the suspect travelling near Batesville, Mississippi," Kennedy said. "The suspect was taken into custody, as well as the vehicle and physical evidence of the crime."

Kennedy said VCU investigators have already traveled to Panola County, Mississippi, to seize the vehicle and collect evidence and interview Thompson, who is being held there until he can be extradited to Tuscaloosa.

The fast action and regional cooperation all highlight the efficiencies of the police agencies that make up and support the Violent Crimes Unit, whose investigators have an almost unheard-of close rate.

"The time of the shooting was 4:15 p.m., and the suspect was located and taken into custody at 10:30 p.m.,  6 hours and 15 minutes later, approximately 200 miles away," Kennedy said. "This is another excellent example of all the partner agencies in Tuscaloosa County working together to investigate and capture a dangerous individual."

This is the 10th homicide the VCU has investigated so far in 2025.

For more coverage of crime and courts in west Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.