A former Birmingham high school standout athlete arrested just two months ago on drug and gun charges was shot to death early this morning by a Shelby County sheriff's deputy.
The Jefferson County Coroner's Office this afternoon identified him as Isaiah Core III. He was 20, and had previous addresses in Clay and Trussville.
Core graduated from Huffman High School, where he was a quarterback on the football team, guard on the basketball team and was named a Scholar-Athlete of the Week. He went on to play college basketball at LaGrange College where he was named the USA South Rookie of the Week.
He was shot to death early today after leading lawmen on a chase through two counties in a stolen vehicle and then trying to run over a Shelby County sheriff's deputy, authorities said.
"It's sad to hear, knowing the potential he had,'' LaGrange College head basketball coach Kendal Wallace told AL.com today. "He just never could get on the right track to make the right decisions to get on the right path."
Today's deadly shooting began on U.S. 280 in Shelby County and ended on Oporto Madrid Boulevard in Birmingham. Shelby County sheriff's officials have provided this account of what happened:
At about 2:30 a.m., Shelby County deputies were patrolling the apartment complexes and neighborhoods in the area of the Highway 280 corridor looking for criminal activity. A deputy noticed a vehicle driving suspiciously through an apartment complex and began watching it. He then saw the vehicle leave the apartment complex, being driven erratically on U.S. Highway 280.
The deputy attempted to make a traffic stop on the vehicle and a pursuit began when the driver failed to pull over in response to the deputy's emergency lights and siren. The vehicle fled the scene at a high rate of speed and the chase ended when the driver exited Interstate 20 at Oporto Madrid Blvd South in Birmingham. The vehicle stopped after exiting the interstate and sheriff's deputies and assisting officers at the scene gave verbal commands to the driver and passenger to exit the vehicle to determine why they fled from officers. There was a deliberate movement of the suspect's vehicle backwards in an attempt to injure officers and a Shelby County deputy fired at the vehicle, striking the driver.
Core was taken to UAB Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 3:15 a.m. His passenger, whose name hasn't been released, was taken to the Shelby County Sheriff's Office for questioning.
Shelby County sheriff's Maj. Ken Burchfield said deputies determined the vehicle was stolen out of Jefferson County and had a switched tag. Further investigation, he said, found a stolen weapon inside the vehicle and it was taken into evidence.
One deputy suffered minor injuries at the scene and the deputy that was involved in the shooting will remain on administrative leave which is a normal practice of the Shelby County Sheriff's Office. They turned the shooting investigation over to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.
"While I realize the circumstances under which Mr. Core died, I cannot help but wish his family my sincere condolences,'' said Shelby County Sheriff John Samaniego. "I wish them peace as they struggle to find resolution with their loss."
Core attended Huffman HighSchool where he played both football and basketball. "I've been coaching for 11 years and he's probably the best guard I've ever had in doing it all (with) rebounding, scoring, assists and steals," coach Stephen Ward said at the time. "He does it all. "
After graduation, Core attended LeGrange College where the freshman guard made quite an impression during his first semester on the team. He was named LaGrange College Athlete of the Week for the week ending Nov. 17 and was named the USA South Rookie of the Week after averaging 19 points in the two games at the Guilford College Invitational. He was named to the all-tournament team. "We felt he was the future of our guard position,'' Wallace said.
However, after less than a dozen games with the Panthers, Core became academically ineligible for play, mainly for not attending class. He was able to earn back eligibility after the spring semester, but then a back injury set him back again. He ultimately left LaGrange and returned home to Jefferson County, where he briefly played for Lawson State Community College.
Core, who lived in the eastern part of the county, was arrested by Tarrant police in April. He was charged with carrying a pistol without a license, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana and possession of illegal prescription medicine.
In that case, police were on patrol in a public housing community on Cedar Street when they smelled marijuana, according to police reports. The officers talked with Core and the woman, eventually found a blunt. "Core became even more nervous,'' according to court records. The officer began to check him for weapons when "Core kept placing his left hand on his left pocket and even placed his hand in his pocket."
The search turned up a revolver, at which point Core was arrested. Police then ran the tag on the white Chevrolet Silverado Core was driving and found the tag had been switched and belonged to a 2002 Volvo. A check of the pickup truck's VIN number showed it had been stolen out of Irondale. Core was in possession of Naproxen, which is a prescription anti-inflammatory, and digital scales with marijuana residue.
Core was arrested by Trussville police in January 2014 when Trussville police were dispatched to a convenience store on Deerfoot Parkway on a narcotics complaint. The woman who called police complained that a black male was in a car rolling joints. When police arrived on the scene, they reported smelling marijuana and approached the vehicle.
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