THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 22, 1994 TAG: 9412220504
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
One of two teenage boys preparing for a drive-by shooting late Monday was killed when a sawed-off shotgun accidentally discharged, police said Wednesday.
Leon C. Nichols, 16, died at a residence in the 1100 block of Commerce Ave. after he tried to pull the shotgun out of the hands of his 16-year-old partner, whom police didn't identify.
The teens were arguing over who would carry the shotgun during the drive-by, police spokesman Tony Torres said.
Nichols, already carrying a .38-caliber revolver in his pocket, began tugging at the shotgun, Torres said. It fired during a brief struggle. The pellet load hit Nichols in the chest.
Police arrested the second juvenile late Tuesday and charged him with involuntary manslaughter and possessing a sawed-off shotgun. He wasn't hurt in the shooting.
Torres said the two 16-year-olds planned the drive-by shooting because of a drug dispute with another juvenile who lives on Liberty Street.
Torres said the intended target had been selling drugs on the teens' turf. The two 16-year-olds believed a drive-by shooting at their rival's home would increase police scrutiny on the rival and curtail his business, Torres said.
They met at the surviving teen's home around 11:30 p.m. Monday and loaded the weapons. The shooting happened moments later.
Nichols, of the 1100 block of Collingwood Ave., died at the scene. A family member said he was a student at Lake Taylor High School in Norfolk.
``It's a tragedy that a 16-year-old boy died,'' Torres said. ``But it would've been a worse tragedy if someone innocent in the home died because of the planned actions of these kids.''
The homes of all three juveniles are in an area of Chesapeake near the borders of Norfolk and Portsmouth, where drug-dealing - specifically crack-dealing - is not uncommon, police say.
Torres said the surviving teen was charged with involuntary manslaughter, not murder, because he didn't mean to shoot Nichols.
``It was not an intentional shooting,'' Torres said. ``But it was a shooting that happened because both parties were handling a dangerous weapon.''
The teen is being held at the Tidewater Detention Home.
KEYWORDS: SHOOTING FATALITY ARREST
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