A 24-year-old woman has been convicted in a deadly drive-by shooting in Birmingham.
Kaylin Sparks was initially charged with capital murder in the Nov. 28, 2021, slaying of 30-year-old Donnika Sills.
Sills was an innocent bystander and left behind a son who had just turned 2 at the time of her death.
A Jefferson County jury on Monday convicted Sparks of manslaughter and second-degree assault.
Her trial began on Sept. 15 before Jefferson County Circuit Judge Kandice Pickett.
Deputy District Attorneys Jason Wilson and Varian Shaw prosecuted the case.
Sparks was represented by attorneys Wendell Sheffield and Chris Daniel.
Sparks, who unsuccessfully sought to be tried as a youthful offender, was booked into the Jefferson County Jail following her conviction.
Sentencing is set for Nov. 10.
The shooting happened about 3:30 a.m. that Sunday.
Testimony showed that the ordeal began with a fight between two women – Jasmine Varner and Fredricka Hill.
Varner pulled out a knife and cut Hill multiple times. Hill still bested Varner in the fight, Shaw said.
Hill got into Sparks’ vehicle immediately following the fight.
Sparks, while driving away from the scene of the fight, shot over Hill, who was in the passenger seat tending to her wounds.
One bullet struck Sills in the head, killing her. A second victim, Ashley Goldwaithe, was also shot during the incident but survived.
A detective testified in an earlier hearing that the dispute started over an incident on Snapchat.
Following the shooting, Sparks drove to a family member’s home and, once there, told the male relative that she “messed up” and may have shot and killed someone.
That relative said, “Give me the keys and the gun, and I’ll get rid of them.”