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Defense fights effort to combine cases for Birmingham mass shooting suspect
AlabamaGDELTGDELT event0% biasedSat, Jun 13, 2026, 12:00 AM
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Defense fights effort to combine cases for Birmingham mass shooting suspect.Defense fights effort to combine cases for Birmingham mass shooting suspect Video above: Previous coverage Attorneys for a Birmingham mass murder suspect are asking a judge to reject prosecutors' request to combine multiple cases into one trial on the grounds that a joint trial would unfairly prejudice jurors and jeopardize his right to a fair trial.Damien McDaniel faces 18 murder charges and is accused of injuring more than 30 people in incidents across central Alabama over the span of a year.In May, the Jefferson County District Attorney filed a motion to consolidate charges from a mass shooting at Hush Lounge in Birmingham's Five Points South, which left four people dead and 17 others injured, and a murder-for-hire shooting that killed one person and injured two others less than 24 hours later in the East Lake area.In a filing submitted Thursday, defense attorneys argued that trying the cases together would expose jurors to evidence involving five deaths and 20 additional shooting victims across two separate incidents, creating a risk that jurors would consider the allegations collectively rather than independently.Prosecutors have argued in court documents that the cases are closely connected in time, place and circumstance, and that witnesses and evidence "substantially overlap." They contend that trying the cases together would conserve judicial resources and avoid duplicative proceedings.>> IMPORTANT ISSUES: WVTM 13 Investigates The hearing on the consolidation motion is scheduled for June 16 at 12 p.m.before Jefferson County Circuit Judge Shanta Owens.This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available.Stay updated on the latest stories with the WVTM 13 app.You can download it here.