From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
MOODY — Two suspects have been detained in the Tuesday night slaying of an Airman with the 117th Air Refueling Wing of the Alabama Air National Guard in Birmingham.
According to authorities, Nicholas Sloan Harmon, 20, was shot around 11 p.m. just off the Brompton/Moody exit in St. Clair County. Harmon was the son of St. Clair County district attorney Lyle Harmon. He had just been named a distinguished honor graduate at a U.S. Air Force tech program, according to Carol Robinson of AL.com.
Harmon was attending Jefferson State Community College.
State trooper painting marks near the scene. Photo by Erica Thomas
Authorities refused to identify either of the suspects, but St. Clair County Sheriff Bill Murray, who spoke at a press conference Wednesday morning in Moody, said that he was familiar with one of the suspects. Murray added that there could be even more suspects on the run.
“We have a very complex investigation going on,” Murray said. “Two individuals have been detained and investigators are combing three different scenes for more information. I can tell you we have some long days ahead of us.”
Murray said that there are three crime scenes, which are several miles apart.
There are few details of the actual shooting. Officials have said that a Moody police officer arrived on the scene of a wrecked vehicle in the Valero gas station parking lot near the I-20 Brompton exit 147. The vehicle had struck a guide wire and utility pole before coming to a stop. Harmon was found inside the vehicle suffering from a gunshot wound. Authorities believe that he was shot while he was driving.
He was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for an autopsy.
“He was a fine young man with a bright future,” Murray said.
