A 31-year-old man has been convicted in the fatal shooting of an unarmed man who intervened in an argument at an Alabama Waffle House.
A Montgomery County jury convicted Juqwarn Hartwell in the 2023 killing of Rodarius McQueen Sr., District Attorney Azzie Oliver announced Friday.
Oliver described McQueen’s slaying as “a senseless and unprovoked shooting inside the Waffle House.”
The shooting happened in the predawn hours of Memorial Day, May 22, 2023, at Waffle House on Folmar Parkway.
Oliver said Hartwell began arguing and demeaning a Waffle House employee who was an acquaintance of McQueen.
McQueen intervened on her behalf, which resulted in a brief exchange of words between him and Hartwell.
“The situation escalated when Hartwell pulled a gun from his crossbody bag and fired at Mr. McQueen,” Oliver said.
“According to witnesses’ testimony and video surveillance, Mr. McQueen was unarmed.”
After shooting McQueen, Hartwell and his cousin fled the scene with their food.
Friends and family who were with McQueen victim rushed him to the hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
Police released surveillance photos of the suspect, which led to his identification and arrest days later.
“These senseless murders are happening far too often in our community,” Oliver said. “Mr. McQueen was simply trying to do the right thing and stepped up to defend an employee who was being verbally abused by a belligerent customer.”
“Juqwarn Hartwell should have let it go, taken his food and left,” Oliver said.
“Instead, he chose to shoot and kill an unarmed man, ending Mr. McQueen’s life in the most despicable way.”
Oliver said she will seek the maximum sentence for Hartwell. Sentencing is set for Oct. 1.