CULLMAN, Ala. – Two individuals have been indicted in connection with the Aug. 15, 2020, murders of Levi Benjamin Lawrence, 24, of Cullman, and Dalton Matthew Bannister, 36, of Blountsville.
A Cullman County grand jury on Monday, April 13, 2026, returned indictments against Tyler Dwight Dooley, 32, of Arab, and Samantha Star Robertson, 25 of Cleveland, Alabama. Dooley and Robertson are each facing two counts of murder.
Court records show a third defendant, Jacob Andrew Drane, 27, of Cullman, pleaded guilty on Feb. 13, 2026, to two counts of manslaughter in the same case. He was originally charged with two counts of murder. Drane was sentenced to 15 years for each count, to be served consecutively.
The shootings occurred in the early morning hours of Aug. 15, 2020, in the New Canaan community. Authorities were called to a residence after reports of a shooting, where two individuals were found dead and a third person was seriously injured.
Cullman County Coroner Jeremy L. Kilpatrick identified the victims as Lawrence and Bannister.
Initial information released by the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office indicated the shooting followed an altercation at the residence involving multiple individuals.
Authorities later stated the incident was connected to a robbery. Additional details released following the shooting indicated Lawrence had been attempting to leave the residence when the situation escalated. As the investigation continued, additional individuals were charged in connection with the case.
Sept. 8, 2020, reporting from The Tribune:
According to Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry, Lawrence died while defending himself from Bannister.
“Mr. Lawrence was the victim in this case,” said Gentry. “Mr. Bannister, that is deceased, is the offender.”
Gentry said that in the course of the investigation, his office learned there was another individual at the scene, identified as Dooley.
CCSO investigators worked with the Arab Police Department and Marshall County Sheriff’s office to execute a search warrant in Arab, where Dooley was found.
“As we were investigating, putting the pieces of the puzzle together, this is what we determined,” said Gentry. “Mr. Lawrence had received a message from one of the offenders that we’ve arrested about hanging out at this residence (in New Canaan). So, Mr. Lawrence is there talking to his friend, Mr. Drane, at the residence belonging to another offender that we’ve arrested; his name is Ricky Martin. Mr. Martin is known to associate with people that are not the best. At this point, later on in the night, Mr. Dooley, Bannister and the female arrived at the residence…Mr. Lawrence realized that these people are not who you want to be around. Mr. Lawrence told them that he was going to leave. As Mr. Lawrence attempted to leave, Bannister and Dooley had predetermined that they were going to rob Lawrence of his possessions. These individuals are known throughout those communities to do those of kind of things.”
Gentry continued, “As Mr. Lawrence attempts to leave, he’s confronted by an armed suspect, Bannister, at which time Mr. Lawrence was also armed and an altercation occurs and there is rounds that are exchanged. After the gunfight, Dooley flees the scene, leaving Bannister and the female on the ground.”
The sheriff emphasized that Lawrence was the victim and said Bannister and Dooley being free before the crime occurred was a result of a failure of the system.
“Bannister and Dooley are a failure to the system,” he said. “You look at their criminal histories. They should be in prison. They had a reputation to go out and do bad things, but they met somebody that said, ‘You know what? You’re going to do bad things, but I’m not going to allow you to do bad things to me or anyone else. Mr. Lawrence was defending himself. He defended himself, and as a result, he shot someone that did bad things who is now deceased, but in turn he lost his life. One of the things I look at is if Bannister and Dooley had both left, what other bad things would they have done to other people in the community?”
