Capital murder suspect in Falkville shooting allegedly called 911

FALKVILLE, Ala (WHNT) — “They’re going to lock me up for the rest of my life,” the suspect charged with capital murder for Sunday night’s shooting in Falkville said when he called 911, according to an affidavit.

The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) responded to a call for a shooting in the 50 block of Godwin Road around 6:00 p.m. Sunday.

When deputies arrived, the MCSO said they found one person dead and another with a gunshot wound. A third victim with gunshot wounds reportedly left the scene before deputies arrived and later reported to Falkville City Hall/Police Department.

Joshua Lamar Knighten, 35, of Falkville was arrested and charged with capital murder following a fatal shooting Sunday night in Falkville. New details in the investigation have emerged in court records.

Knighten was allegedly behind the trigger when he shot and killed 62-year-old Mitchell Ray Beard of Falkville while in a vehicle on Godwin Road property.

Court records show deputies arrived at the scene to see a man standing in the yard, a man inside a vehicle and one “sprawled on the ground”. Records indicate another gunshot victim was also located in a home on the property.

The affidavit says the man lying on the ground told a deputy at the scene that he “didn’t intend to” and that “one of his firearms was in the ‘inside the residence behind me’.

Deputies reportedly arrested the two men who were found outside the vehicle. Records indicate that deputies realized the man in the vehicle, who was later identified as Beard, had multiple gunshot wounds.

The dispatcher then informed officers that a third victim had arrived at the Falkville Police Department and that both victims had been taken to hospital for treatment, according to court documents.

Investigators at the scene identified the shooter as Knighten.

In the affidavit, the dispatcher later informed MCSO that Knighten was the one who called 911 and said, “They’re going to lock me up for the rest of my life.”

Court records also show that when a deputy was driving Knighten to the sheriff’s office, he asked “how many lives did I end tonight?”.

Knighten is currently being held in Morgan County Jail.