Devarta Thomas Indicted.jpg

Devarta Thomas has been indicted in the 2015 shooting death of his mother, Tawanda Thomas.

( )

A 23-year-old Hoover man has been indicted in the 2015 shotgun shooting death of his mother.

A Jefferson County grand jury issued the indictment against Devarta Dedre Thomas in May, according to court records made public today. He has been jailed since Nov. 9, 2015.

Hoover police were dispatched that Sunday afternoon to Alpine Village Apartments on Lorna Road just before 3 p.m. after they received a hang-up 911 call. When they arrived at the apartment, they found the 40-year-old mother, Tawanda Thomas, inside suffering from a gunshot wound. She was taken to UAB Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 3:45 p.m.

Investigators said at the time a family argument escalated, and the mother was shot. Devarta Thomas, an aspiring rapper, had been arrested on crimes ranging from burglary to robbery prior to the shooting and just months before stirred the ire of cops throughout the Birmingham area when he posted graphic photos on social media mocking a Birmingham police detective after he had been pistol-whipped.

Though arrested several times, Devarta Thomas had never been convicted of any crimes. When he lived with his mother at their Birchwood Street home, he was arrested by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office in 2012 when authorities say stole three televisions, two pair of shoes, $1,000 in jewelry and a PlayStation from another man. He was indicted on a first-degree theft of property charge, and was denied youthful offender in the case, court records show. The charges against him were dropped in 2013 when prosecutors say the victim wouldn't show up for court.

Birmingham police also arrested Devarta Thomas in 2012. Police say he was armed when he robbed a different victim of undisclosed items. The first-degree robbery charge against him was also dismissed.

Authorities said Tawanda Thomas wanted more for her son, which is what led up to the deadly shooting. "She was voicing those concerns to him when he retrieved a shotgun,'' Hoover police Capt. Gregg Rector said last year. "The argument had clearly escalated, but it's just insane that he thought he needed to introduce a gun into a verbal argument."

"Mrs. Thomas actually came to her son's apartment to lecture him about 'doing right,'' Rector said. "She wanted him to get a job, stop using drugs and stop hanging out with some of the individuals he was hanging out with. Basically, a mom lost her life while trying to convince her son to live a better, more productive life."

Devarta Thomas is represented by Emory Anthony. At a preliminary hearing held in December, Anthony said that Thomas and his mother struggled over a gun. But no one says he got the gun, pointed it at his mother, and intentionally fired, he said.

At that hearing, Devarta Thomas' bond was reduced from $250,000 to $100,000 but he remains behind bars. No trial date has been announced.