MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WRBL) — On Wednesday, Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the affirmation of the convictions of 31-year-old De’Aundre Jerell Neal from Tuskegee, Alabama, by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals for attempted murder and robbery (first-degree.)

According to the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, Neal was convicted in the Lee County Circuit Court on June 30, 2021. On Oct. 2, 2017, Neal and another individual traveled to the Marathon gas station on Highway 280 in Opelika, Alabama.

Evidence presented at trial showed that Neal blocked the entrance to the business while his co-defendant demanded the attendant to lay on the floor at gunpoint.

The Attorney General’s Office says, after the victim complied by laying on the floor, he was shot numerous before being transported to a hospital in Columbus, Georgia.

The victim later identified Neal and his co-defendant and it was also determined that during the robbery attempt, the defendants shot another customer in the back of the gas station.

Both victims survived the incident after receiving emergency medical treatment.

Lee County District Attorney Jessica Venture’s Office prosecuted the case and obtained guilty verdicts. Neal received 40 years behind bars for his convictions. As a result, Neal sought to have his convictions reversed on appeal.

The Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Division handled the case arguing for the Alabama Court of Appeals to affirm Neal’s convictions, with the court affirming Neal’s convictions in a March 17 decision.