Mobile County sheriff responds to man with ‘four-page-long rap sheet’ being taken off the streets

MOBILE COUNTY, Ala. ( WKRG ) — A murder suspect with a “four-page-long rap sheet” is back in police custody , and Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch said he hopes it stays that way.

25-year-old Isaiah Jamal Kelly was arrested Monday, July 22, in connection with the murder of Demetrius Hunter, which took place in March of 2023 on Meaher Avenue, according to previous reporting .

Kelly was out of jail on probation when he was arrested Monday. Sheriff Burch spoke to media outlets Tuesday about the arrest, saying in part that he hopes Kelly stays in jail since he was already on probation.

“He’s an extremely violent individual,” said Sheriff Burch. “I’m hoping he’ll be held without bond because of his history and the fact that he’s on probation.”

According to Sheriff Burch, all of Kelly’s previous arrests have been for violent crimes.

In 2015, News 5 reported that Kelly, at the age of 16, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, first-degree robbery and shooting into an occupied vehicle for a shooting that occurred on Monterrey Street . In that incident, a woman was shot in the face at the intersection of Monterrey Street and Dauphin Street and would end up losing an eye.

Then, in 2017, Kelly was arrested again after two teenagers were shot during a birthday party near the Thomas Sullivan Community Center. He was 18 years old at the time of that shooting.

In 2018, Kelly, 19 at the time, was one of three people arrested on several charges after three people were hit by bullets after the annual Trinity Gardens Parade; however, charges against Kelly for that incident were later dropped.

23-year-old Kelly was arrested again in 2022 after he allegedly fired shots into two unoccupied homes on Quigley Street. At the time of the shootings, Kelly had a pending circuit court case for receiving stolen property.

“He’s a thug, is what he is,” said Sheriff Burch. “I hope he will spend the rest of his life in prison for senseless murder.”

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