
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, September 24, 1993                   TAG: 9309240233
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

18-YEAR-OLD GETS 14 YEARS FOR KILLING RIVAL

Dwayne Carlos Miller was sentenced Thursday to 14 years in prison - one year for each gunshot he fired at a rival Roanoke teen-ager.

Miller, 18, was sentenced in Roanoke Circuit Court after pleading guilty earlier this year to the second-degree murder of Percy Johnson, 17.

Johnson was shot seven times - with two semiautomatic handguns - in a burst of 14 gunshots on a Roanoke River bridge the night of Jan. 23.

Miller testified Thursday that he shot in self-defense, sticking with his earlier story that he looked into the eyes of a 17-year-old and saw trouble.

That explanation did not satisfy Roanoke prosecutors, who since 1990 have seen 17 teen-agers killed or charged with murder in the city.

"This is not the wild, wild West," Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Mac Doubles said. "You can't resolve conflicts with two young men meeting in the street and shooting it out."

But Assistant Public Defender Marian Kelley argued the only reason Miller is alive is that he was carrying a gun to protect himself from the likes of Johnson.

Kelley called several witnesses, including police officers, who testified that Johnson was a dangerous man who often carried a gun.

Miller has told police that he and several other friends, after running out of gas the night of the shooting, were walking on Bridge Street in Southwest Roanoke when a car pulled up.

Johnson, who had been feuding with one of Miller's friends about a stolen leather jacket, stepped from the car and began to walk toward Miller.

Miller said he opened fire after Johnson reached for his gun. Authorities believe Miller emptied his gun before taking Johnson's weapon and firing another seven shots.

Johnson was hit in the torso and legs. The final shot was fired into his forehead at close range. Yet prosecutors offered to reduce the charge against Miller to second-degree murder - expecting a hard time gaining a first-degree murder conviction from Roanoke juries accustomed to the ways of gun-battling teens.

Miller, who received his sentence from Judge Kenneth Covington, will be become eligible for parole after serving about 2 1/2 years, Doubles said.

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by CNB