Two 18-year-old men who shot and seriously injured a woman at a Montevallo apartment complex on Jan. 20 were attempting to steal marijuana from a third party, according to charging documents filed Jan. 23.

Kevin Valladares Gutierrez of Alabaster and Terry Christopher Searcy of Maylene are being held in the Shelby County Jail on bonds totaling $90,000 after shooting and seriously injuring Lauren Michelle George.

 

The warrant in the case states that Searcy and Gutierrez were attempting to take marijuana from Jonathan Jones and threatened use of force against him and George. The warrant states that Gutierrez was armed with a pistol and caused “serious physical injury” to George.

A news release the Montevallo Police Department issued on Jan. 21 stated George was “seriously injured” when they arrived on the scene. George was then transported by ambulance to an area hospital where she is being treated.

“According to witness statements the shooting stemmed from an argument between the resident of the apartment and the suspects,” Montevallo Police Chief Jeremy Littleton wrote in an email. “Unfortunately, this incident resulted in the serious injury of a young lady and was a tragedy for our community. Our prayers go out to the victim and her family and we hope she fully recovers from her injuries.

“I want to thank the community and surrounding agencies for their help and commend our police department personnel for a job well done to help bring closure to this case,” Littleton wrote.

According to Alabama law, first-degree robbery is a Class A felony and first-degree assault is a Class B felony. If convicted, the suspects could face up to 20 years in prison for the assault charge and between 10 and 99 years in prison for the robbery charge.