Conviction Upheld in Fatal Apartment Shooting | Birmingham News

Birmingham AL News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Aug 20, 2026 · 1m

A 26-year-old man, Frank Jamall Steele, has had his felony murder conviction upheld by Alabama’s highest criminal court after a brutal early-morning shooting that left Benjamin Gonzalez dead. Steele allegedly broke into Gonzalez’s apartment under the pretense of needing a phone, then fatally shot him twice before fleeing — leaving behind damning evidence including a hand wound matching his climb over a barbed-wire fence and a gun traced to his home. Arrested the next day at his job, Steele was convicted in August and sentenced to 35 years. His appeal was denied just days ago by the Court of…