ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, January 2, 1996 TAG: 9601020125
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITER
A 15-year-old Fieldale boy has been charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of his stepfather New Year's Eve, according to the Henry County Sheriff's Office.
Investigator R.D. Minter said a 30-year-old man was shot about 10:20 p.m. Sunday at his home on Virginia 683 behind Bassett High School.
The man was struggling to get a .22-caliber rifle away from his stepson, who had threatened suicide, when the gun fired, Minter said.
The boy had been arguing with his 19-year-old girlfriend for several hours, Minter said. During the argument, the girlfriend said she wanted to end the relationship.
The boy left the house after the shooting, then fired the rifle through the front door, hitting the girl in the upper left thigh. Minter said he does not think the boy was trying to hurt anyone when he shot at the house and he does not know why he fired the gun then.
``There was no alcohol, no drugs [involved], just poor judgment,'' Minter said.
The girl was taken to Memorial Hospital of Martinsville-Henry County where she was treated and released. Minter said the bullet remained in her thigh and would be removed today.
The boy was arrested by deputies at the scene and was being held in W.W. Moore Detention Center in Danville pending a hearing today.
The charges against the boy include second-degree murder, three counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, malicious wounding, and shooting into an occupied dwelling. Police would not release the boy's name because he is a juvenile.
The boy's mother was also in the house when the shooting occurred.
LENGTH: Short : 41 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB