A Montgomery man has been sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for multiple charges related to a deadly 2025 gas station shooting, according to the Department of Justice.
Rodriques Javaun Humphrey, 20, pleaded guilty in August 2025 to illegally possessing a machinegun, possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. A federal judge handed down his sentence on Tuesday.
The shooting occurred on January 7, 2025, at the Chevron gas station on Zelda Road. The victim, 24-year-old Rodriquez Harris, Jr., was shot multiple times while sitting in his vehicle and later died from his injuries.
Authorities said officers with the Montgomery Police Department and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) were nearby when gunfire erupted between two vehicles. Three individuals were seen fleeing the scene.
The suspects were later identified as Humphrey, Trawick Demond Smith, Jr., and Ladarius Knight. Humphrey reportedly ran toward an apartment complex while carrying a rifle and backpack, firing at responding officers. He was eventually apprehended, and authorities recovered the rifle, which was an AR-style pistol equipped with a machinegun conversion device with its serial number scratched off. Investigators also found plastic bags of marijuana and a digital scale in his backpack.
Knight fled into a nearby McDonald’s and was captured by ALEA officers. He pleaded guilty in February 2026 to being a felon in possession of a firearm and faces up to 15 years in federal prison. He was not charged with the shooting.
Humphrey and Smith are also facing state capital murder charges in connection with Harris’s death. Humphrey is additionally charged with attempted murder for firing at Montgomery police officers during the incident.
