Ernesto Pablo, 20, has been charged with capital murder in the death of Isaiah Hosanna, a 20-year-old man who was shot in the parking lot of a McDonald’s on Bessemer Road in Birmingham, Alabama, on Sept. 28, 2026, the Birmingham Police Department announced Wednesday, Oct. 7.
Pablo, who is also identified as Ernesto Gama Pablo, additionally faces charges of attempted murder and discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle. He was booked into the Jefferson County Jail without bond. A 17-year-old boy was also arrested in connection with the shooting, though his charges are unclear.
What Police Say Happened
Officers were called to the restaurant, in the 2200 block of Bessemer Road, at about 9 p.m. on Sept. 28 after reports of gunfire. They found Hosanna in the parking lot. He was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead at about 9:30 p.m.
A second person was also struck. Those injuries were “non-life-threatening,” police said. The gunfire shattered windows at the fast-food restaurant, which sits in Alabama’s largest city, in the north-central part of the state.
Investigators believe Hosanna and others had arranged to meet someone outside the restaurant that night. When the meeting wrapped up, one of the suspects allegedly opened fire, hitting Hosanna and the second victim. What the meeting was for was not immediately clear.
Arrests 80 Miles North
The case stayed open for more than a week before investigators tracked the two suspects to a neighborhood well outside Jefferson County. Pablo and the teenager were taken into custody Tuesday, Oct. 6, in the 2100 block of Westmead Drive Southwest in Decatur, Alabama, roughly 80 miles north of the shooting scene.
Pablo, a Fort Payne man, was transported to the Jefferson County Jail, where he is being held without bond. The 17-year-old was placed into the Birmingham City Jail “and placed on a 48-hour Felony Extension,” the Birmingham Police Department said. The teenager has not been publicly named.
A 48-hour felony extension is a holding window that gives detectives additional time to build a case and formally present charges. Because the department has not detailed what the teenager is accused of doing, his role in the shooting, as described by investigators, remains undisclosed.
Where the Case Stands
Capital murder is the most serious charge in Alabama’s criminal code, and a defendant facing it is typically held without bond, as Pablo is. Police have not said how the attempted murder and firearm charges relate to the second victim or to any vehicle.
News of the two arrests circulated quickly through local coverage after the police department’s announcement. The suspects were captured in Decatur eight days after the killing.
Authorities have not released additional details about what led to the meeting outside the restaurant or about any relationship between Hosanna and the people he was there to see. Police have likewise not described how they traced the suspects to the Decatur address.
The charges against Pablo are allegations. He has not been convicted of any crime in connection with Hosanna’s death, and he is entitled to the presumption of innocence as the case moves through the Jefferson County court system. No court dates have been announced by the police department.
