SMITHS STATION, Ala. (WRBL) — Investigators believe an argument over a traffic cone led to a deadly shooting of a Smiths Station man Sunday evening.
According to court documents and Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones, deputies responded around 6:32 p.m. on October 19, 2025, to Sawyer's Mobile Home Park off Lee Road 246 after receiving a 911 call reporting a shooting. Deputies arrived within minutes and found 34-year-old Anthony Hodge, of Smiths Station, suffering from a single gunshot wound to the chest. He later died at the hospital.
A deposition filed in the case outlines what investigators say happened before the gunfire. It states around 6:30 p.m., Anthony Hodge and 20-year-old Jeremy Wiggins were involved in a physical altercation concerning a traffic cone removed from one of their vehicles. During the confrontation, Hodge allegedly opened the driver's door of Wiggins' vehicle and struck him several times in the head and face. According to investigators, Wiggins fired a 9mm handgun, striking Hodge once. The bullet entered Hodge's upper left chest and exited through his upper right back, near the shoulder blade.
First responders attempted lifesaving measures, but Hodge was pronounced dead at 7:35 p.m. at Jack Hughston Memorial Hospital in Phenix City. His body was transported to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in Montgomery for an autopsy.
Court documents and investigators say Wiggins' girlfriend was inside the truck at the time of the shooting. Immediately after the gunfire, Wiggins left the scene with her in the vehicle, and she later called 911 to report what had happened. Deputies directed them to stop near Terry's Grocery, where Wiggins was taken into custody without incident.
A 9mm handgun believed to have been used in the shooting was recovered. Wiggins, of Phenix City, is charged with murder – domestic violence and is being held in the Lee County Jail without bond.
Jones called it another tragic example of a disagreement ending in gunfire.
"It's an unfortunate example of a dispute being settled by the use of a firearm," he said. "We always urge people to settle disagreements peacefully."
The Lee County Sheriff's Office continues to investigate.
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