Post by Shuftin on Dec 10, 2006 3:40:27 GMT -5
Wilmington, NC -- A sheriff's deputy present during the fatal shooting of a teenager accused of stealing two Sony PlayStation 3 video game systems was fired Friday, the sheriff announced.
New Hanover County Sheriff Sidney Causey wouldn't publicly disclose why Cpl. Christopher Long was released from duty.
Long, 34, was among several deputies placed on administrative leave earlier this week after the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Peyton Strickland. The teenager was killed when deputies executed a search warrant December 1 on a house he rented in Wilmington.
The State Bureau of Investigation and the Attorney General's office were conducting a criminal probe into the incident, according to a statement released Friday by the sheriff's office.
Strickland and two friends, Braden Riley and Ryan Mills, were accused of beating a University of North Carolina at Wilmington student and robbing him of two PlayStation 3s worth more than $600 each. An autopsy suggested Strickland, a Cape Fear Community College student, may have been shot through the front door.
According to search warrants, authorities believed they would be at high risk when entering the home because of pictures on the Internet that showed Mills posing with guns, and UNC Wilmington police said they had received information Mills was known to carry a weapon.
Mills' friends said the photos were a prank.
Long and two other deputies, Sgt. Greg Johnson and Detective Larry Robinson, were identified this week as being on the scene when Strickland was shot. All have moved out of the county with their families.
Causey has declined to identify four other members of his office's Emergency Response Team who also were present during the fatal raid. Causey said the sheriff's office has received several threats.
Riley, a 21-year-old Cape Fear Community College student from Apex, was freed on $30,000 bond after a court appearance Tuesday. Mills, a 20-year-old UNC Wilmington student from Durham, was arrested Saturday and released on bail, authorities said. Both have pleaded not guilty and have a District Court hearing scheduled for January 4.
One of Strickland's roommates said Strickland was unarmed but may have been holding a video game controller when he went to the door, which the roommate said was bashed in by deputies during the raid.
In February 2001, Long shot and wounded two teenagers during a traffic stop but wasn't charged in the incident. Long said the driver, Gregory Donnell Miller, tried to run him over.
Miller, then 17, was later convicted of assault with a deadly weapon on a law enforcement officer. He and his passenger, 18-year-old Terry Lamar Green, were convicted of possessing marijuana with the intent to sell.
A funeral for Strickland was held Wednesday in Durham, his hometown.
www.wfmynews2.com/news/mostpopular/article.aspx?storyid=76358&provider=top
New Hanover County Sheriff Sidney Causey wouldn't publicly disclose why Cpl. Christopher Long was released from duty.
Long, 34, was among several deputies placed on administrative leave earlier this week after the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Peyton Strickland. The teenager was killed when deputies executed a search warrant December 1 on a house he rented in Wilmington.
The State Bureau of Investigation and the Attorney General's office were conducting a criminal probe into the incident, according to a statement released Friday by the sheriff's office.
Strickland and two friends, Braden Riley and Ryan Mills, were accused of beating a University of North Carolina at Wilmington student and robbing him of two PlayStation 3s worth more than $600 each. An autopsy suggested Strickland, a Cape Fear Community College student, may have been shot through the front door.
According to search warrants, authorities believed they would be at high risk when entering the home because of pictures on the Internet that showed Mills posing with guns, and UNC Wilmington police said they had received information Mills was known to carry a weapon.
Mills' friends said the photos were a prank.
Long and two other deputies, Sgt. Greg Johnson and Detective Larry Robinson, were identified this week as being on the scene when Strickland was shot. All have moved out of the county with their families.
Causey has declined to identify four other members of his office's Emergency Response Team who also were present during the fatal raid. Causey said the sheriff's office has received several threats.
Riley, a 21-year-old Cape Fear Community College student from Apex, was freed on $30,000 bond after a court appearance Tuesday. Mills, a 20-year-old UNC Wilmington student from Durham, was arrested Saturday and released on bail, authorities said. Both have pleaded not guilty and have a District Court hearing scheduled for January 4.
One of Strickland's roommates said Strickland was unarmed but may have been holding a video game controller when he went to the door, which the roommate said was bashed in by deputies during the raid.
In February 2001, Long shot and wounded two teenagers during a traffic stop but wasn't charged in the incident. Long said the driver, Gregory Donnell Miller, tried to run him over.
Miller, then 17, was later convicted of assault with a deadly weapon on a law enforcement officer. He and his passenger, 18-year-old Terry Lamar Green, were convicted of possessing marijuana with the intent to sell.
A funeral for Strickland was held Wednesday in Durham, his hometown.
www.wfmynews2.com/news/mostpopular/article.aspx?storyid=76358&provider=top
