A 20-year-old Bessemer man is behind bars after he was taken into custody Friday by the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force.
Kena Dionte Smith was sought after he failed to show up in court on a 2017 drug case. About the same time he was captured, however, Birmingham police were obtaining a new warrant against him for the shooting of a woman in the western part of the city.
Task force deputies found Smith at a home in the 1300 block of 22nd Avenue North. Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Cliff LaBarge said during Smith's Friday arrest, deputies spotted someone throwing shell casings and what appeared to be contraband out of a second-floor window of the home. An AR-15 was also recovered during the arrest.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents responded to the scene to take custody of the AR-15 and the shell casings for comparison and follow up, LaBarge said.
Smith was arrested in January 2017 on possession of hydrocodone. He was set to appear in court in February 2018 on that charge but was a no-show. A judge quickly issued a warrant for his arrest on failure to appear.
Authorities said Smith now is also charged with attempted murder in the Birmingham shooting of a woman on March 17. His bond on the attempted murder charge is $100,000 but he is being held in the Jefferson on a no-bond for the failing to appear in court.