Twenty-year old Kouren-Rodney Thomas was on his way to a house party with friends Sunday evening when a neighbor spotted the boys and pegged them as “hoodlums”.
Advertisement
Copley was arrested on charges of first-degree murder later that day.
Chad Copley told the 911 operator to send a police vehicle fast – he was “locked and loaded”, he said, and going outside to confront a group of “hoodlums”. He turned around and looked at me and the shot went off and I was just, man, this is not happening.
“We got a bunch of hoodlums out here racing”, the 39-year-old Raleigh man told the dispatcher early Sunday morning (local time). The shooting was said to have come from “inside the garage”. “I just think this situation deteriorated in the wrong way”, said John MacDonald. It was later revealed that Raymond Tarlton would defend Copley and in a brief statement, Tarlton said it was too soon to make any definite decisions regarding the case. I’m on Neighborhood Watch, I’m gonna have the neighbors with me.
‘This man took my baby’s life, ‘ Butler-Thomas, said in a phone interview from her home in Louisburg.
In court, Copley was told that if found guilty, he could face the death penalty. And days later, members of the Neuse Crossing Homeowners Association told the Raleigh News & Observer that the neighborhood doesn’t have a watch group like the one Copley said he belonged to.
“They do have firearms, and I’m trying to protect myself and my family”, he said, noting that he had fired a warning shot that might have hit someone. Copley called 911, told cops he was “locked and loaded” and was headed outside.
“We haven’t seen him yet”.
“I don’t know if they’re shot or not”.
Copley: Uh, well, I don’t know if they were shot or not, ma’am. In a short press release, Tarlton asked that people not rush to judgment in the case. 911 Call:Caller: There’s a black male outside my freaking house with a firearm please send PD.
The Sunday shooting in the quiet, multi-racial North Raleigh suburb reminded Ellis of the death of Trayvon Martin, an African-American teen who was gunned down by George Zimmerman, a self-appointed, armed community watchman in Sanford, Fla., in February 2012. “But if you’re outside the house – or the person is outside your house – you can’t use deadly force. We were all looking around like, who got a gun?”
Friends and family of Thomas described him as charismatic and caring.
Thomas had been at the party briefly, and was preparing to leave when he was fatally struck, his mother, Simone Butler-Thomas, told the Daily News.
“‘Stand your ground’ laws empower emotional people to end an argument with a gun, and until these laws are rolled back we will continue to suffer more senseless tragedies like the one my family has endured”, she wrote.
Advertisement
“I think any court would have a hard time with that argument”, Kenny said, “because then anyone could shoot someone they were fearful of”.
