Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 12, 1990 TAG: 9005120283
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-3 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Harold Emanuel Anderson, 16, admitted in testimony Friday that he shot James P. Ferrell, 22, during a drug-related argument at the Lansdowne housing project in February.
Anderson's confession came during a pretrial hearing in Roanoke Circuit Court, where his lawyers are asking that an earlier incriminating statement he made to police be thrown out of court.
However, Judge Diane Strickland delayed a decision on the statement's admissibility until another matter can be resolved: whether Anderson's case should be returned to juvenile court.
A judge in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court ruled in March that Anderson, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, should be tried as an adult. But court-appointed attorney David Bowers is challenging that decision, contending that additional tests are needed to determine if his client is mentally retarded.
Under Virginia law, a mentally retarded juvenile cannot be tried as an adult.
After delaying a decision on whether Anderson should be tried in Circuit or Juvenile Court, Strickland agreed Friday to hear testimony concerning his confession, which Bowers contends was not voluntary.
Although Anderson admitted in testimony that he shot Ferrell, he offered few details about what led up to the argument at Naho Street and Centre Avenue the night of Feb. 7.
But he gave a more detailed description to police in Akron, Ohio, where he was arrested after taking a Greyhound bus from Roanoke the night of the shooting.
In a motion to suppress that statement, Bowers contends his client was not properly advised of his rights to have an attorney or parent present during questioning.
A written summary of the statement, introduced as evidence Friday, gave the following account:
Anderson told Ohio authorities that he found a cigarette packet containing five "rocks" of crack cocaine leaning against a building at Lansdowne. He sold three rocks and "fronted" the remaining two to Ferrell, with an agreement that he would be paid $50 for the drugs later.
On later occasions, Ferrell explained several times that he could not pay the debt because he had just been released from jail.
The response apparently angered Anderson, who told police that he was always getting excuses and he was tired of it, according to the statement.
Earlier testimony revealed that Anderson said he was "going to get" Ferrell on the night of the shooting, shortly before they met in a section of Lansdowne frequented by drug dealers. Anderson told police that he fired one shot after Ferrell appeared to reach for something in his belt during a confrontation.
Ferrell, who was struck in the buttocks, ran a short distance before collapsing on the sidewalk. He died about an hour later at Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
Anderson told police that the gun used in the shooting, a .38-caliber revolver, was given to him by a 9-year-old he knew only by nickname.
Earlier testimony has shown that shortly before the shooting, Anderson and another youth had compared handguns and argued about whose gun was "prettier."
by CNB