Mobile police report calls downtown shooting 'murder for no reason'

MOBILE, Alabama 
From the eye of a police camera, it was a typical night in downtown Mobile.

Dedric Cortez Burroughs

Friends were coming and going at the corner of Dauphin and Jackson streets in the entertainment district. A group of University of South Alabama football players, unaware of what was about to happen, stood nearby.
Assistant District Attorney Jo Beth Murphree, describing surveillance video recorded early Sunday, told a judge today that Darryl Casher, 26, then walked onto Jackson Street after having left Club Atlantis. He passed by 18-year-old Cedric Burroughs on the way, she said.
“And for reasons that are, frankly, unknown,” Murphree said, Burroughs spoke something to Casher that made him pause — then Burroughs pulled out a gun and shot him.
A police report filed in court described the incident another way: “murder for no reason.”
Burroughs, who is being held in jail, appeared before Mobile County District Judge George Hardesty this morning and pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder.
He is accused in the weekend shooting that sparked an uproar about safety concerns in downtown Mobile, including complaints about Club Atlantis, where prosecutors say both men had been that night.
The owner of the club, in the wake of the slaying, announced he was shutting down.
In court, defense attorney Sid Harrell, asked the judge to lower bail for Burroughs from the $250,000 amount set by another judge earlier this week.
Harrell pointed to other recent murder cases in which defendants have been given bail amounts ranging from $50,000 to $150,000. He said the court should be “consistent” when making bail decisions.
In response, Murphree said that Burroughs represents a danger to the community because the shooting was "totally unprovoked, totally for no reason, in the middle of a crowded downtown street.”
“I don’t know what’s wrong with him,” Murphree said.
Hardesty refused to lower the total bail amount, keeping it at $250,000. The judge did lift a requirement that $2,500 be paid in cash, which means the entire amount could be paid through a bonding company.
Family members have described Casher as a smiling jokester who loved playing football and helped his younger cousins practice the game. Family have said they don’t know Burroughs, and at the time Casher was shot, it appears he was trying to go home for the night.

Burroughs has not been charged with any previous crimes as an adult. Prosecutors have indicated that he has a juvenile record, although no specifics have been discussed publicly. Juvenile records in general are sealed from public view.