Deputy kills teen while serving warrant...
inmytree
Posts: 4,741
This all over the local news...they say this kid was unarmed...
http://www.starnewsonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061203/NEWS/612030440
Article published Dec 3, 2006
Deputy kills teen while serving warrant
New Hanover deputies were helping UNCW police make arrest in PlayStation theft case
A New Hanover County sheriff's deputy Friday shot and killed an 18-year-old man suspected in an armed robbery of two PlayStation 3 video systems, authorities said.
A puddle of blood on the hardwood floor of his living room left a harsh reminder Saturday of what took place, and family and friends expressed outrage.
The deputy shot Peyton Strickland about 8:45 p.m. Friday in the Long Leaf Acres house Strickland rented with three other young men, said his roommate, Mike Rhoton, who was home at the time. He said Strickland was unarmed.
UNCW police and sheriff's deputies were at the house on 533 Long Leaf Acres Drive to arrest Strickland and serve him a search warrant, according to the university. Strickland was one of two suspects in the armed robbery of a University of North Carolina Wilmington student that occurred Nov. 17.
Investigators were reviewing the conduct of all officers and deputies involved in the incident, said New Hanover County District Attorney Ben David, who confirmed at least one sheriff's deputy was involved in the shooting.
"I am making this my top priority," David said Saturday. "No one's above the law. If there's any criminal conduct that can be established, I'm not going to hesitate to treat them as any other defendant."
Neither he nor Sheriff Sid Causey would release any information on who was present at the time of the shooting or details about why or how it happened. The State Bureau of Investigation is assisting in the investigation, they said.
"It puts a cloud over everybody," Causey said. "Nobody wants things to happen, but they do happen. When they do, we have to investigate ... and then do the approriate thing."
Search for answers
Saturday at the one-story, brown rental house, Strickland's friends and roommates stopped by to grieve the death of the tall, thin welder who friends say wanted to start his own business and was attending Cape Fear Community College.
They also searched for answers.
"I don't understand why shots were fired," Rhoton said. "I've just been trying to figure out why they shot him."
What further shocked Strickland's friends and family was that a deputy also shot and killed Strickland's German shepherd named Blaze.
The dog's blood stained the front porch, and shards of glass from the front-door windows littered the area.
A light blue sheet hung in the door frame after investigators took the door away.
The robbery
UNCW Police planned to arrest Strickland on charges of armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and breaking and entering.
On Friday, officers arrested another suspect, UNCW student Ryan David Mills, on the same charges. The 20-year-old lives at 4500 Crawdad Court.
Two weeks after the robbery and after reviewing surveillance video from Wal-Mart, law enforcement officers got a break in the case that started Nov. 17.
That's the Friday when UNCW student Justin Raines was among the first at the Market Street Wal-Mart to buy two coveted PlayStation 3 consoles, released that day.
When Raines came home to the on-campus Seahawk Village apartments after midnight with the games he bought for $641 apiece, two white men in a gold Pontiac pulled up to Raines' car, struck him with a six-inch blunt object and stole his purchases, leaving him with bumps and bruises, UNCW police said.
Because of safety concerns, UNCW Police Chief David Donaldson requested the help of sheriff's deputies to serve the warrants on Strickland, according to a university news release.
Three unloaded guns were in the house - a hunting rifle and two shotguns - which were in Strickland's room, Rhoton said. And when Strickland answered the door, he may have been holding a PlayStation controller in his hand, he said.
Across the country, the release of the PlayStation 3 has sparked robberies, stampedes and other violent incidents.
Before the shooting
Neighbors said they long feared that something bad would happen at 533 Long Leaf Acres Drive - a home historically known for loud parties and noise.
"We even have this address on our refrigerator because we know where the noise is coming from," said Joan Kester, adding that the complaints in the past have revolved around loud music and kids on the roof yelling.
On Friday night, Rhoton said he and Strickland played a PlayStation video game while taking a break from cleaning the house they had moved into in August. Their other two roommates weren't home.
They were playing Tiger Woods PGA Tour when they heard a knock on the door.
Strickland, who sat on a couch closest to the front door, got up to answer, Rhoton said.
As Strickland approached the door, law enforcement officials knocked it down and "there was a bunch of yelling," he said.
"Four or five shots went off and they killed him," he said. "They pinned me down to the ground and told me not to move anything."
Within seconds, Strickland lay on the floor moaning while officers held a gun to Rhoton's head as he lay on the floor.
He said they mentioned something about a search warrant, but they did not provide a copy.
"They never said why they were here, even when I left last night," said Rhoton, who attended Jordan High School with Strickland in Durham.
David assured that the District Attorney's Office would conduct a thorough investigation.
"There's nothing more important than assuring the community that officers are there to serve and protect," David said.
Welding wonders
Strickland's green, 1964 boat he rebuilt sat in the front lawn Saturday - sparking memories for his roommates and friends about how he had sunk a bunch of money into it to rebuild it.
Strickland was the youngest of three children and the only son of a well-known Raleigh-Durham-area lawyer Don Strickland.
Strickland's handiwork extended to almost anything fast - and on wheels. He loved working with metal, even making a chopper from scratch, said his friend Nick Kane.
"Not long before this ... happened, we were planning out an exhaust system for one of my four-wheelin' trucks," Rhoton said.
Strickland was like a brother to many of his friends, said friend Mike Bernard
"He was the best kid, talented, gifted, determined," he said.
http://www.starnewsonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061203/NEWS/612030440
Article published Dec 3, 2006
Deputy kills teen while serving warrant
New Hanover deputies were helping UNCW police make arrest in PlayStation theft case
A New Hanover County sheriff's deputy Friday shot and killed an 18-year-old man suspected in an armed robbery of two PlayStation 3 video systems, authorities said.
A puddle of blood on the hardwood floor of his living room left a harsh reminder Saturday of what took place, and family and friends expressed outrage.
The deputy shot Peyton Strickland about 8:45 p.m. Friday in the Long Leaf Acres house Strickland rented with three other young men, said his roommate, Mike Rhoton, who was home at the time. He said Strickland was unarmed.
UNCW police and sheriff's deputies were at the house on 533 Long Leaf Acres Drive to arrest Strickland and serve him a search warrant, according to the university. Strickland was one of two suspects in the armed robbery of a University of North Carolina Wilmington student that occurred Nov. 17.
Investigators were reviewing the conduct of all officers and deputies involved in the incident, said New Hanover County District Attorney Ben David, who confirmed at least one sheriff's deputy was involved in the shooting.
"I am making this my top priority," David said Saturday. "No one's above the law. If there's any criminal conduct that can be established, I'm not going to hesitate to treat them as any other defendant."
Neither he nor Sheriff Sid Causey would release any information on who was present at the time of the shooting or details about why or how it happened. The State Bureau of Investigation is assisting in the investigation, they said.
"It puts a cloud over everybody," Causey said. "Nobody wants things to happen, but they do happen. When they do, we have to investigate ... and then do the approriate thing."
Search for answers
Saturday at the one-story, brown rental house, Strickland's friends and roommates stopped by to grieve the death of the tall, thin welder who friends say wanted to start his own business and was attending Cape Fear Community College.
They also searched for answers.
"I don't understand why shots were fired," Rhoton said. "I've just been trying to figure out why they shot him."
What further shocked Strickland's friends and family was that a deputy also shot and killed Strickland's German shepherd named Blaze.
The dog's blood stained the front porch, and shards of glass from the front-door windows littered the area.
A light blue sheet hung in the door frame after investigators took the door away.
The robbery
UNCW Police planned to arrest Strickland on charges of armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and breaking and entering.
On Friday, officers arrested another suspect, UNCW student Ryan David Mills, on the same charges. The 20-year-old lives at 4500 Crawdad Court.
Two weeks after the robbery and after reviewing surveillance video from Wal-Mart, law enforcement officers got a break in the case that started Nov. 17.
That's the Friday when UNCW student Justin Raines was among the first at the Market Street Wal-Mart to buy two coveted PlayStation 3 consoles, released that day.
When Raines came home to the on-campus Seahawk Village apartments after midnight with the games he bought for $641 apiece, two white men in a gold Pontiac pulled up to Raines' car, struck him with a six-inch blunt object and stole his purchases, leaving him with bumps and bruises, UNCW police said.
Because of safety concerns, UNCW Police Chief David Donaldson requested the help of sheriff's deputies to serve the warrants on Strickland, according to a university news release.
Three unloaded guns were in the house - a hunting rifle and two shotguns - which were in Strickland's room, Rhoton said. And when Strickland answered the door, he may have been holding a PlayStation controller in his hand, he said.
Across the country, the release of the PlayStation 3 has sparked robberies, stampedes and other violent incidents.
Before the shooting
Neighbors said they long feared that something bad would happen at 533 Long Leaf Acres Drive - a home historically known for loud parties and noise.
"We even have this address on our refrigerator because we know where the noise is coming from," said Joan Kester, adding that the complaints in the past have revolved around loud music and kids on the roof yelling.
On Friday night, Rhoton said he and Strickland played a PlayStation video game while taking a break from cleaning the house they had moved into in August. Their other two roommates weren't home.
They were playing Tiger Woods PGA Tour when they heard a knock on the door.
Strickland, who sat on a couch closest to the front door, got up to answer, Rhoton said.
As Strickland approached the door, law enforcement officials knocked it down and "there was a bunch of yelling," he said.
"Four or five shots went off and they killed him," he said. "They pinned me down to the ground and told me not to move anything."
Within seconds, Strickland lay on the floor moaning while officers held a gun to Rhoton's head as he lay on the floor.
He said they mentioned something about a search warrant, but they did not provide a copy.
"They never said why they were here, even when I left last night," said Rhoton, who attended Jordan High School with Strickland in Durham.
David assured that the District Attorney's Office would conduct a thorough investigation.
"There's nothing more important than assuring the community that officers are there to serve and protect," David said.
Welding wonders
Strickland's green, 1964 boat he rebuilt sat in the front lawn Saturday - sparking memories for his roommates and friends about how he had sunk a bunch of money into it to rebuild it.
Strickland was the youngest of three children and the only son of a well-known Raleigh-Durham-area lawyer Don Strickland.
Strickland's handiwork extended to almost anything fast - and on wheels. He loved working with metal, even making a chopper from scratch, said his friend Nick Kane.
"Not long before this ... happened, we were planning out an exhaust system for one of my four-wheelin' trucks," Rhoton said.
Strickland was like a brother to many of his friends, said friend Mike Bernard
"He was the best kid, talented, gifted, determined," he said.
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From today's paper....
3 deputies on leave after shooting
Investigation continuing in death of suspect described by family as 'kind and gentle'
By Veronica Gonzalez
Staff Writer
veronica.gonzalez@starnewsonline.com
Three members of an elite unit of the New Hanover County Sheriff's Department are on paid leave after the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old suspected of stealing two PlayStation 3 video game systems, Sheriff Sid Causey said Sunday.
Whenever law enforcement officers fire their service weapons, it is standard procedure for them to be put on paid leave.
The heavily armed emergency response team - similar to a SWAT unit - was called in Friday to help the UNCW police serve warrants for the arrest of Peyton Brooks Strickland, who was facing charges of armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and breaking and entering.
Causey did not release the names of the deputies. He acknowledged that the information should be public record but said he was concerned for the deputies' safety.
Strickland's roommate, Mike Rhoton, said Saturday that the two were home alone at 533 Long Leaf Acres Drive playing video games when deputies opened fire on Strickland, who Rhoton said was unarmed, and his German shepherd Blaze, who was also killed.
But Causey indicated that officers and deputies had a reason to fear for their lives.
"If this boy would've come to the door - opened the door - we probably wouldn't be talking," he said.
The emergency response team typically is called to assist in incidents ranging from hostage situations to serving warrants when officers believe they're going into dangerous situations, Causey said.
The sheriff would not say what specifically prompted the need for the emergency response team to arrest Strickland or what transpired at Strickland's home Friday night because the State Bureau of Investigation is examining the incident.
"The plan was to get in the house, secure people and let UNCW (police) search," he said.
In Causey's four years as sheriff, he said, he couldn't recall another time when the UNCW police requested the emergency response team. But this case warranted it, he said.
Deputies were assisting the UNCW police to arrest Strickland on the charges and search the house he rented with three other roommates. They also arrested Ryan David Mills, a 20-year-old UNCW student, on the same charges, according to the university. Mills' address is listed at 4500 Crawdad Court, according to UNCW.
Mills was released from New Hanover County jail after posting a $30,000 secured bond Saturday morning.
A spokeswoman for the Strickland family, Joyce Fitzpatrick, said Sunday that Mills and Strickland were friends.
PlayStation 3 robbery
Strickland and Mills were charged in connection with an incident on Nov. 17, the day the new PlayStation 3 video game system was released. UNCW student Justin Raines had waited in line for about three days to be among the first to buy the console at Wal-Mart on Sigmon Road near the university. He purchased two for $641 apiece.
When Raines went to unload them from his car at his on-campus apartment complex, four men drove up in a gold Pontiac G6. One of them got out and hit Raines repeatedly with a six-inch blunt object, knocking him to the ground, while another man took the video game systems he had just bought.
"I think anytime that someone beats a person severely and commits an armed robbery, I certainly would consider him a risk and a danger," the sheriff said.
Causey said he couldn't disclose the other reasons law enforcement considered Strickland - the only son of well-known Raleigh lawyer Don Strickland - a high risk.
Rhoton, Strickland's roommate, has said deputies shot Strickland as he went to open the door. He said they broke down the door and shot his roommate in the living room.
Rhoton said a hunting rifle and two shotguns were in the house but were unloaded and in Strickland's room. He also said Strickland might have been holding a PlayStation controller in his hand when he approached the front door.
'Kind and gentle boy'
In a statement released Sunday, Strickland's parents, Kathy and Don Strickland, said their son "was a kind and gentle boy."
"He was generous, thoughtful and compassionate," the statement said. "He was deeply loved by us and adored by his two sisters and his extended family. … He had tremendous potential and was just coming into his own."
A memorial service for Strickland will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday at The Church of the Good Shepherd in Durham.
Strickland had no criminal record, but he was scheduled for a court hearing in January on a pending assault charge in Wilmington, said Donald Beskind, the law partner of Strickland's father and a friend. Beskind did not give details on the assault, but on Sunday said it was "the kind of thing that happens between two kids."
Next in investigation
When law enforcement officers or deputies fire their service weapon - regardless of whether it's a fatal shooting - they are immediately placed on paid leave.
The clothing, gear and weapons they had at the time of the shooting, along with items at the scene, are taken as evidence until an investigation is completed, Causey said. In this case, even the front door was taken as evidence.
The deputies involved in Friday's fatal shooting have been members of the sheriff's office for several years, the sheriff said.
Causey said that his office will conduct its own investigation into Friday's shooting and that he would release any findings as soon as the SBI concluded its part. "We're not going to sit on it for months," he said.
'High-risk entries'
The emergency response team is made up of six deputies who perform those duties full-time.
"A lot of people don't want to work for an (emergency response team)," Causey said. "It's dangerous. They get killed."
In addition, about 20 other deputies in the roughly 400-member department receive special training to serve on the team, he said.
When the team is called to an incident, as was the case on Friday night, they wear reinforced bullet-proof vests, Kevlar helmets and special goggles. They are armed with a .45-caliber service weapons and rifles, Causey said.
"Normally, the entrance team has a ballistics shield. It's Kevlar and it's maybe 5-foot high, bulletproof," Causey said, adding the shield includes a light to blind people. "They're led by Lt. Doug Price, who is an outstanding law enforcement officer and an outstanding person," he said.
The unit has existed since the 1970s, and many of the members have served in the military.
"All their entries are high-risk entries," Causey said, adding the tactical team knows the history of the people they're facing and whether they have weapons.
2005 shooting
The emergency response team also was involved in a fatal shooting April 28, 2005, when John T. Lewis Jr. was shot to death by team member Donald M. Warnick.
The tactical team was summoned to Lewis' house off Castle Hayne Road after he threatened his wife with a gun. During a standoff, Lewis pointed a loaded .22-caliber gun at deputies.
Loaded weapons were later found in his home.
An investigation into the shooting found that Warnick was justified in firing on Lewis.
yeah, I'm waiting to see how this plays out...I'm thinking the dog has a role in this, or at least some sort of 'excuse'...
the weird this is...this all started over a video game...kind of sad, really....
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061205/NEWS/61205002
2nd suspect was considered dangerous
By Ken Little
Staff Writer
ken.little@starnewsonline.com
An Internet image of three smiling young men hoisting a shotgun, an assault rifle and handguns might have given New Hanover County sheriff’s deputies cause to believe a suspect in a Nov. 17 robbery of two Sony PlayStation3 game systems from a college student was armed and dangerous.
Information contained in a search warrant carried out Friday night that culminated in the shooting death of 18-year-old Peyton Strickland shows authorities knew about the presence of weapons inside the house at 533 Long Leaf Acres Drive.
University of North Carolina Wilmington police and members of the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Response Team entered the one-story home occupied by Strickland and three other men. Ryan Mills, 20, of 4500 Crawdad Court, a UNCW student, also was sought. He did not live at the house and wasn’t taken into custody there. He is charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon, assault with a deadly weapon and breaking and entering a motor vehicle.
Armed on Internet
Mills is seen holding a shotgun in the Web image from campusblender.com. UNCW police received information that Mills was known to carry a firearm, according to the probable cause statement accompanying the search warrant.
The warrant also states that Strickland was charged Sept. 22 in Wilmington with assault inflicting serious injury, another possible indicator of the potential for violence when police served the warrant.
Police sought the Cape Fear Community College student and Mills for questioning in connection with the robbery of UNCW freshman Justin Raines in a campus parking lot. Raines had waited in line for about three days to be one of the first people to purchase a PlayStation 3 unit at the Sigmon Road Wal-Mart. He was struck on the head with a blunt object and robbed of two of the game systems, worth $1,282, according to Mills’ arrest warrant.
UNCW police received an anonymous tip about the suspects’ identities after local media outlets aired surveillance video from the Wal-Mart parking lot. Searches were authorized for the Long Leaf Acres Drive property and several vehicles, including Mills’ 1996 Toyota Celica, which police had seen parked at the address.
UNCW police also received information that one of the stolen PS3 units was sold in an Internet auction, and the other game system could be found at 533 Long Leaf Acres Drive. When police and the ERT Team arrived Friday, Strickland and a roommate, Mike Rhoton, were playing video games. Rhoton said four or five shots were fired.
Strickland, who was not armed, died along with his pet German shepherd, Blaze. Investigators recovered 13 shell casings and bullet fragments from the home. Rhoton said there were three unloaded guns in Strickland’s room, including a hunting rifle and two shotguns.
No ‘rush to judgment’
District Attorney Ben David cautioned the public Monday not to jump to conclusions about Strickland’s death.
He would not say much else about the case.
Preliminary findings from an autopsy conducted Saturday on Strickland by Charles L. Garrett of the N.C. Medical Examiner’s Office in Jacksonville show Strickland died of a bullet wound to the head. The Durham native was struck by two bullets – in the head and chest – said Dennis B. Nicks, New Hanover County medical examiner.
David said the State Bureau of Investigation and N.C. Attorney Generals Office are assisting.
“I call for calm in this community while we are working hard on this,” David said. “Sometimes the wheels of justice grind slowly, but it’s important we not rush to judgment in this case.”
David said the investigation will not be conducted any differently because deputies are involved. “We are going to be thorough, and we are going to be fair to everyone,” he said.
David said his office wouldn’t release further information about the investigation until Monday.
Sheriff Sid Causey acknowledged that names of the deputies involved in the shooting should be released as a matter of public record. He declined to do so, citing concerns about their safety. The deputies are on paid leave pending the completion of investigations by the SBI and sheriff’s office.
Chief Deputy Tom Parker said Monday that the internal investigation could take “a couple weeks, easily,” but added it should be finished by the end of the year.
Mills was a no-show Monday for a scheduled District Court date. Lawyer Alexander Hall appeared on his behalf. Judge John J. Carroll III set a return court date of Jan. 4. Mills remains free on $30,000 secured bond.
When reached at home Monday, wearing a white dress shirt, tie and black slacks, Mills said he had no comment on the robbery.
A review of facts
The SBI’s involvement in a police shooting does not assign fault, said Noelle Talley, spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Justice. Agents will decide whether to drop the matter or press criminal charges, she said.
District attorneys in North Carolina have charged law enforcement officers following similar investigations, Talley said.
In a telephone interview Monday, Raleigh attorney Robert Zay-
toun, a longtime friend of the Strickland family, pushed for a thorough, independent review of the shooting.
A trial lawyer and former prosecutor, Zaytoun said emergency response teams have well-defined procedures about entering homes and drawing and discharging weapons. From what he’s read in newspapers, he said, it seemed “incomprehensible” that Strickland was dead.
“There’s got to be a clear, unequivocal, legal justification, and if it’s not, then this is a homicide,” Zaytoun said.
He said law enforcement personnel can overreact like anyone else.
“Peyton is an 18-year-old kid,” Zaytoun said. “They’re trained law enforcement people carrying firearms.”
Don and Kathy Strickland will not publicly discuss what they might know about the shooting of their son until at least after the funeral, family spokesman Don Beskind said.
Peyton Strickland’s memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Durham, according to The News & Observer of Raleigh.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll be saying anything at all,” said Beskind, an attorney and law partner of Don Strickland. “Right now, it’s about being with family.”
Beskind did confirm that a meeting is set for today between the Stricklands and District Attorney Ben David.
Staff writers Patrick Gannon, Veronica Gonzalez and Mark Schreiner contributed to this report.
-Jean-Jacques Rousseau
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061205/NEWS/612050385/1004
Booth, and hearts, are empty after shooting
By Mark Schreiner
and Mark Schreiner,
mark.schreiner@starnewsonline.com
Booth No. 10 was empty Monday evening in instructor Rick West's welding class at Cape Fear Community College's North Campus.
On Friday, Peyton Brooks Strickland, 18, was shot twice and killed by sheriff's deputies inside his Long Leaf Acres Drive home. New Hanover County deputies were serving arrest and search warrants in connection with an armed robbery of two PlayStation 3 game consoles on the UNCW campus. An investigation into the shooting is under way.
West, who had taught Strickland four nights a week since August, described him as a quick study with a future so bright he needed "two pairs of sunglasses."
"You could show him a welding procedure and he'd do it the first time just about every time," West said. "He was doing great. He's a natural."
As more details about Strickland's life and death emerged Monday, kind words of his family and friends stood in contrast to criminal charges against him that included two violent assaults since late August in which Strickland broke a man's jaw, according to an arrest warrant. Details of that assault couldn't immediately be learned, but a family friend referred to the incident as "the kind of thing that happens between two kids."
According to a warrant from New Hanover County District Court, on Nov. 17 Strickland struck Justin Raines in the head several times with a "slapstick," then stole two PS3 game systems worth $1,282 from Raines' Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Police records also show that law enforcement officers had responded to 533 Long Leaf Acres Drive, where Strickland lived with three roommates, at least four times since August. Strickland's role in those incidents, if any, was unclear Monday.
On Sept. 13, Andrew Gardner, a roommate of Strickland, told Wilmington Police that an SKS semi-automatic rifle worth $200 was stolen from their Long Leaf Acres Drive house. Police officers also responded to Strickland's address three times in August and September because of noise complaints. Police issued at least one noise citation to Gardner.
Also, according to information attached to a search warrant for the address, investigators found drug paraphernalia, including four bongs, or smoking pipes.
Raleigh attorney Robert Zaytoun, a close friend of the Strickland family, described Peyton as a "likable kid" who enjoyed fishing and working on his boat. He is survived by his father Don, a well-known Raleigh attorney, his mother Kathy, and two older sisters.
Zaytoun said the family was devastated.
"They lost their only son," he said.
On Monday, the Strickland's house in southwest Durham was busy with the comings and goings of friends and relatives.
The house sits back in the woods at the edge of a quiet neighborhood of tall pine trees and patio homes. Cars lined the street out front. A flower shop van made a delivery.
'Build it, don't buy it'
Among those who visited were two lifelong friends of Strickland, who wished he would be remembered as a good person with an uncanny knack for machinery.
"He was an amazing, beautiful kid," said J.P. Trehy, who visited the Stricklands with his brother Nolan. "He could fix or improve almost anything. He had a saying: 'Build it, don't buy it.'●"
The Trehys' father and Strickland's father are law partners. The brothers said their families are extremely close.
"We're basically one family," Nolan Trehy said.
According to Durham County Schools, Strickland graduated from Jordan High School in June. The school's 2006 yearbook shows Strickland smiling and wearing a tuxedo. Unlike others on the page, he didn't choose a senior quote.
The yearbook printed for his junior year, 2005, noted his membership in Jordan High's technology club and showed a picture of a massive speaker installed in the back of his SUV.
Freebird careened out the windows of that two-door Chevy Tahoe Monday night at a vigil for Strickland in Wilmington.
With white taper and tea light candles held high above their heads, nearly 40 of Peyton Strickland's friends gathered around his SUV singing along to the Lynard Skynard anthem of generations.
Votives scattered bits of light across the seats and bow of Peyton's small green boat, which sat hitched to the Tahoe in front what was his Wilmington home.
The boat was one of many projects the 18-year-old wowed friends and family with.
"He was really talented," said Joe White, one of Peyton's welding classmates at CFCC. "He loved what he was doing here. If he had survived, he would have been really good at this."
Friends came from as far away as Colorado, Alabama and Georgia, not to mention handfuls from Peyton's hometown of Durham, said longtime comrade Nick Kane.
Throughout the evening, duos and trios of young adults arrived to pay their respects and mourn with friends.
The sound of laughter and the sight of tears spiraled among them. "As soon as I found out, I knew we had to do something," said Art Lea, one of the organizers of the vigil. "He was a good kid; he didn't deserve what happened to him."
Neighbor Tyler Lockamy said he and his roommates heard the repeating sounds of rapid-fire gunshots ring out Friday night.
"This isn't Bagdad," he said. "It's Wilmington."
There is an unease on his quiet city street now that never existed before.
"If there was a warrant served on me … and the cops shot my dog and my roommate," Lockamy, 26, said, his voice trailing off, his frustration evident from the exasperation in his voice.
"It invokes fear in everyone in the neighborhood."
At CFCC, West, the instructor, said he found out about Strickland's death from another student Sunday morning.
"It hit me like a ton of bricks," West said. "I have two sons of my own. … It just hits home."
West recalled Strickland telling him about how he built a miniature Harley-Davidson-like chopper by himself.
"I was pretty impressed with that because that's a lot of pipe-fitting, a lot of welding," he said.
West declined to comment specifically about the actions of the deputies who shot Strickland, saying he would wait until more details become available.
"I'm upset that he got killed. That's all I'm going to say about it," he said.
West said Strickland was well-liked by his classmates.
"That was Peyton's booth right there," West said, pointing to No. 10. "He'll be missed. It's a tragedy."
A memorial service for Strickland will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Durham.
they said the same thing about jeffrey dahmer... he was so nice and quiet.
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061206/NEWS/612060416
Shots likely hit door, then teen
Pathologist: Police bullets passed through 'intervening targets'
By Ken Little
Staff Writer
ken.little@starnewsonline.com
Law enforcement officers may have fired through a front door Friday night as sheriff's deputies and University of North Carolina Wilmington police officers attempted to serve an arrest warrant on Peyton Strickland in connection with the Nov. 17 robbery of two PlayStation 3 game stations from a UNCW student.
Strickland, 18, was shot in the head and right shoulder area and fatally wounded in the house he lived in at 533 Long Leaf Acres Drive. Strickland's death is attributed to a gunshot wound to the head, said Charles L. Garrett, the pathologist who performed the autopsy.
Garrett said Tuesday that the state medical examiner's office in Jacksonville is working with the State Bureau of Investigation in trying to determine at what range the bullets that struck the Cape Fear Community College student were fired from.
"Some of the bullets went through intervening targets, probably the door," Garrett said. Both bullets that struck Strickland passed through him into the house, he added.
New Hanover County Sheriff Sid Causey has refused to divulge the names of the deputies on the sheriff's office Emergency Response Team that served the warrant.
The Star-News and other media outlets will file a complaint today in New Hanover County Superior Court requesting an order compelling disclosure of public records. The names of the three deputies who have been placed on administrative leave, along with the names of the other deputies present when the warrant was served, are sought.
"I am not releasing their names, their address or anything about them until the investigation is complete. If there's anything in the investigation that was done wrong, I will take responsibility for it," Causey said Tuesday. "The investigation is going to be finished soon and we will reveal all the facts."
Causey said he saw postings on several Web sites that threatened harm to the deputies involved in the incident.
"It's stuff like that that's being suggested that concerns me a whole lot when I think somebody is going to go to an officer's house to harm him, his family or anybody else," Causey said.
"When the investigation is finished, we'll review it, and if there is any action that needs to be taken, we'll take it."
Authorities charged a third man Monday in connection with the robbery of Justin Raines in a UNCW parking lot. Braden Delaney Riley, 21, was charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon, assault with a deadly weapon and breaking or entering a motor vehicle.
Riley, a Cape Fear Community College student who gave an Apex address, had a District Court appearance date Tuesday and is free on $30,000 secured bond.
Ryan D. Mills, 20, of 4500 Crawdad Court, is charged with the same offenses, as Strickland would have been. Riley and Mills have both entered not guilty pleas. Both have Jan. 4 appearance dates in felony District Court.
The language in Riley's arrest warrant is similar to the one issued for Mills. The warrant states that the men stole the two PlayStation units, worth $641 each, using a blunt object to assault Raines during the robbery. Raines had waited about three days in line outside the Sigmon Road Wal-Mart to purchase the coveted PlayStation 3 systems.
UNCW police said after the robbery that Raines was followed back to the college from the Wal-Mart parking lot by four men in a gold sedan. The car and two of the suspects were captured on a surveillance video in the store parking lot.
A search warrant of the Long Leaf Acres Drive house where the shooting occurred that was released to the media Monday had one page containing items seized by deputies omitted. That page was provided Tuesday and showed that in addition to shell casings and fragments, a PlayStation 3 game system was seized, along with a marijuana cigarette and bong pipe. Other property seized included more shell casings and fragments, four bongs and the front door of the house, according to the documents released Monday.
A blue sheet flapped in the doorway of the Long Leaf Acres Drive house Tuesday afternoon.
Candles from a vigil held the night before by friends of Strickland still flickered inside glass sleeves at the end of the driveway.
Neighbors said that earlier in the day, several young men loaded a rental trailer with household possessions and drove off.
A funeral service for Strickland will be held at 2 p.m. today in Durham.
Or if that fails beat the shit out of someone and steal it.
Such a kind, sweet young man.
oh well.
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061212/NEWS/612120396/-1/news30
Article published Dec 12, 2006
Ex-deputy charged in shooting
A police battering ram crashing into the front door of Peyton Strickland's house sounded like gunshots to Deputy Christopher M. Long.
The veteran member of the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office Emergency Response Team fired three shots through the door of the rental home, inflicting fatal wounds on the unarmed 18-year-old.
District Attorney Ben David outlined in court Monday how Cpl. Long, 34, described what happened the night of Dec. 1 as ERT members assisted University of North Carolina Wilmington police in executing search and arrest warrants at 533 Long Leaf Acres Drive.
A New Hanover County grand jury earlier Monday indicted Long on a charge of second-degree murder. Judge Ernest B. Fullwood reduced Long's secured bond to $50,000 from the $250,000 initially set by a magistrate.
Two other ERT members at the scene, Detective Larry Robinson and jail Sgt. Greg Johnson, were cleared of any criminal wrongdoing.
Long, a sheriff's deputy since 1996, was fired Friday by Sheriff Sid Causey. ERT deputies and UNCW officers were executing the warrants on Strickland and friend Ryan Mills in connection with the Nov. 17 robbery of a student on the college campus. Justin Raines was beaten with a blunt object and robbed of two Sony PlayStation 3 game systems.
Long's statements
David said he decided to file the murder charge after "a deliberate and thorough review of the evidence," which included statements given to investigators by Long. David summarized to Fullwood during a bond reduction hearing what Long said:
Long was an ERT member for several years and sometimes supervised the team. He was assigned Dec. 1 to provide cover for the deputy who was manning the battering ram. The ERT plan was to knock on the door "and use whatever means necessary" to enter.
Three glass window panes on the door allowed deputies to peer inside, and they saw two men playing a video game. Strickland walked into the foyer. Long was standing to the right of the deputy hoisting the battering ram, providing cover.
Strickland looked out the window panes and then turned away. He was ordered by law enforcement to open the door. The deputy began using the battering ram.
Long told investigators that when the battering ram struck the door, "he thought it was gunfire, and he fired," David said.
Three shots penetrated the door, two of which struck Strickland in the head and right shoulder area.
The battering ram continued to be applied, and the door came down. Meanwhile, Strickland's German shepherd, Blaze, approached Long. The three deputies fired at the dog, killing it.
"Long's belief about the gunfire coming from the inside out has been the focus of our investigation from the start," David said.
Not 'objectively reasonable'
After interviews with other law enforcement personnel at the scene, it became clear that Long's perception "was not the belief of others," David said.
Long's actions were not "objectively reasonable," David said, even though the ERT had information that the occupants of the house might be armed and dangerous. To obtain a second-degree murder conviction, prosecutors must prove that Long committed an unlawful killing with malice, but not premeditation and deliberation.
Long, wearing a gray business suit, quietly told Fullwood he understood the charge against him. He was standing next to Mike McGuiness, an Elizabethtown lawyer who occasionally represents members of the Wilmington Police Department's Police Benevolent Association and other law enforcement agencies.
David agreed with McGuiness that Long, a lifetime resident of the area, was not a flight risk. Long is married and has two children, ages 8 and 4. Long's father, father-in-law and brother were in the courtroom, along with many law enforcement officers.
"I am not unmindful today I am indicting an officer," David said. "This is a tragedy for many involved."
McGuiness said Long had offered to testify before the grand jury but that was denied by David and Fullwood. Long posted bond after his court appearance and was staying at an undisclosed location with his family Monday night.
"He's looking forward to the opportunity to be heard and have this matter put to rest appropriately and correctly," McGuiness said. "We look forward to Chris having the opportunity to tell his story."
Causey said last week that he would take responsibility for the actions of his deputies. Causey appeared contrite Monday as he made a brief statement.
'We are human'
"We are proceeding with this case with a heavy heart. It's a tragedy for many people," Causey said. "We try to do the best we can, but we are human beings and we make mistakes. My prayers and thoughts are with the Strickland family."
Causey said Long had no disciplinary actions on his service record. He is a certified law enforcement training instructor and has taught at Cape Fear Community College.
Long was involved in a 2001 incident in which two Wilmington teenagers were shot, but then-District Attorney John Carriker did not press charges against the deputy.
The shooting of Strickland and its aftermath has been closely followed in the area legal community. Wilmington criminal defense lawyer and former state Sen. Woody White said the ERT is inconsistent in its approach to cases involving non-violent and violent suspects.
ERT questioned
"I think it's fair to say that the ERT team serves a very valid purpose in some instances, but there have been multiple other occasions where myself and other attorneys have seen its use when it was not justified," White said. "I think there was a collective feeling around the courthouse that the worst may play itself out and it was just a matter of time."
When emergency units are dispatched to a non-emergency situation, "you unreasonably escalate the potential for a bad result," White said.
ERT Commander Lt. Doug Price did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/NEWS/61213002/-1/news30
‘How could this happen?’
By Ken Little
and Veronica Gonzalez
ken.little@starnewsonline.com
It turns out a New Hanover County grand jury did not find sufficient evidence this week to indict former sheriff’s deputy Christopher M. Long on a murder charge, but the foreman of an 18-member panel mistakenly checked a box on a form indicating it did.
The error in the case involving the shooting death of Peyton Strickland was not discovered until foreman John K. Hatton told Superior Court Judge Ernest Fullwood during Tuesday’s lunch break that he mistakenly marked the document “so that it did not reflect the decision of the grand jury,” according to a court order directing Hatton to make corrections.
Hatton, contacted Tuesday by telephone, called the error “inadvertent,” but did not elaborate on how it occurred. He also declined to say why the grand jury, which meets in secret, reached the decision not to indict Long.
Hatton told Fullwood that he learned Monday night from other grand jury members that the media “was inaccurately reporting the decision of the grand jury in the Christopher Long case,” according to Fullwood’s court order.
Hatton met with court officials Tuesday and looked over the original bill of indictment, which was checked next to the box designating “a true bill” on the second-degree murder charge.
“Judge Fullwood did the right thing,” Hatton said. “He took care of it and made sure everyone was aware as to what the court was doing.”
Evaluating options
District Attorney Ben David said in a release that he will meet today with members of the N.C. Attorney General’s office in Raleigh “and we will evaluate all options.”
Cpl. Long, 34, was fired Friday. The 10-year Sheriff’s Office veteran was a member of the Emergency Response Team assisting officers from the University of North Carolina Wilmington police Dec. 1 in executing arrest warrants on Strickland and friend Ryan Mills, along with a search warrant for 533 Long Leaf Acres Drive, the home Strickland lived in.
The warrants were issued in connection with the Nov. 17 robbery of UNCW student Justin Raines on the college campus. Raines was beaten with a blunt object and robbed of two Sony PlayStation 3 game systems. Police considered Strickland and Mills suspects. Based on a Web posting they had seen showing Mills and other young men with guns, they also thought the college students might pose a danger to the ERT.
Strickland, 18, was shot through the front door of the home by Long, according to the police investigation. David said in court Monday that Long had told investigators that when another deputy began using a battering ram on the door, he thought the noise was gunfire from within and responded with three gunshots.
Strickland was hit twice, including a fatal wound to the head.
Family reacts
Tuesday’s unprecedented turn of events left the state’s case against Long in disarray and mystified friends and family members of Strickland.
The Strickland family was seeking closure and justice Monday with news of Long’s indictment on a second-degree murder charge. That process was rudely interrupted Tuesday.
“I’ve been practicing law for 33 years. I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Don Beskind, law partner and friend of Peyton Strickland’s father, Don Strickland. Speaking from the family’s house in Durham, he said the Stricklands were “devastated” after being contacted by David.
“Yesterday, they had some hope there was going to be some justice for their son. Today, they’re wondering what is going on.”
Joyce Fitzpatrick, a spokesman for the family, called the latest development “bizarre.”
“They had some sense that things were moving along, and now all of a sudden, everything’s turned upside down,” she said.
In a statement released to the press, Strickland’s parents, Don and Kathy Strickland, said: “We are upset, confused and searching for answers.
“We call on the judge presiding over the grand jury to hold an inquiry into what happened here and make the results public. And, if it shows that anyone even attempted to influence the grand jury, we trust charges of obstructing justice will be filed.”
Long cleared
Long’s attorney, Elizabethtown-based Michael McGuiness, said Tuesday that his client was relieved by the news.
“All of this – it’s just a horrible tragedy based on a simple inadvertent mistake,” he said. “It’s devastated my client, his family, the law enforcement community. My client had to expend substantial monies to be bonded out of jail on an alleged offense he never committed. Obviously, it’s wonderful news for us, and we believe it is consistent with the real evidence that there was no malice involved in this tragic incident.”
McGuiness said he hopes the unexpected development “will start a healing process for the community.”
Long “has been put through a complete, living hell for 10 days in every sense of that term,” he said. “And it’s been unjustifiable.”
‘Good faith’
Causey did not return several telephone calls Tuesday. David did not directly comment on Tuesday’s development. He said in a prepared release that his office “acted in good faith” on the information provided by the grand jury.
It was not clear Tuesday how, or if, the oversight might have been prevented. David and Causey held a news conference Monday to announce the decision to charge Long with murder, and Long appeared in a crowded courtroom with McGuiness to argue for reduced bond. Long was free on $50,000 secured bond when the grand jury foreman’s mistake was discovered.
Court officials said David has several options regarding the Long case. He can do nothing and abide with Monday’s “not a true bill” finding of the grand jury. Long could be recharged with second-degree murder or other offenses after an arrest warrant is issued based on probable cause. Or another grand jury can examine the evidence and decide the merits of the case.
The State Bureau of Investigation worked with the District Attorney’s Office in its investigation of the case. A. Griffin Anderson, a local criminal defense lawyer and former assistant district attorney, said the investigation following the Strickland shooting on Dec. 1 proceeded at a rapid pace.
“It seemed to me this process moved awfully quickly,” Anderson said. “In my experience both as a prosecutor and a defense attorney, when investigations move too quickly, the chances of mistakes increase.”
Both Long and the Strickland family have the option of filing civil lawsuits.
“I don’t think the family has even thought about what’s next,” said Beskind, Don Strickland’s law partner. “They’re just trying to deal with what’s just happened.”