For Immediate Release:
August 27, 2026
For press inquiries only, contact:
Amanda Priest (334) 322-5694
William Califf (334) 604-3230
(Montgomery, Ala.) – Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the murder and first-degree burglary convictions of Frank Cortez McQueen, 46, of Evergreen. McQueen was convicted in the Covington County Circuit Court on April 3, 2025.
The evidence at trial showed that in November 2020 the victim, Micah Coon, went to a local convenience store in Andalusia where he got into a fight with Tyquise Jenkins. After the fight was over, an angry Jenkins led a group of people which included his uncle, Frank Cortez McQueen, to the victim’s house. After Jenkins forced entry into the house, McQueen and several others followed him inside and began attacking the victim along with Jenkins. Eventually, the victim was shot and killed. One witness saw McQueen holding a firearm and did not see anybody else in possession of a gun at that time.
Covington County District Attorney Walt Merrell and Chief Assistant District Attorney Nikki Stephens successfully prosecuted this case and obtained guilty verdicts. McQueen was sentenced to life imprisonment for his crimes. McQueen sought to have his convictions reversed on appeal.
The Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Division handled the case during the appeals process, arguing for the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to affirm McQueen’s convictions. The Court did so in a decision issued Friday, August 14, 2026.
Attorney General Marshall commended Assistant Attorney General Marc A. Starrett for his successful work on this case and thanks District Attorney Walt Merrell and his staff for their valuable assistance in obtaining the murder and first-degree burglary convictions.
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