THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 19, 1995 TAG: 9507190399
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANGELITA PLEMMER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
The case of a man accused of fatally shooting his pregnant girlfriend in March will go to a grand jury.
A judge in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court found probable cause Tuesday in the case against Nathaniel A. Richardson Jr.
Richardson, 23, of the 800 block of Lincoln St., faces charges of first-degree murder and using a firearm in a felony.
Police said Richardson had a dispute with the victim, 19-year-old Telisha Johnson, and shot her with a .357-caliber handgun in the 1500 block of Green St. in the Washington Park subdivision on March 21. The weapon was found in a nearby trash bin.
After his arrest, Richardson lost control when told that Johnson - with whom he also had a 1 1/2-year-old daughter - died from the gunshot wound, police detectives testified. Richardson kicked a large hole in a wall of the detention room where he was being held. He also bent a desk and damaged a chair, causing an estimated $1,000 in damage.
A police detective testified that Richardson cried out during his emotional outburst, ``Just send me to the electric chair! I shot my girl, I shot my girl! She's all I've got!''
According to an autopsy report, Johnson died after a bullet entered the back of her right arm, exited and then re-entered her body through the right side of her chest, hitting both lungs.
``This is certainly not evidence that this was an intentional shooting,'' said Kenneth Melvin, Richardson's attorney. ``This autopsy is indicative of an accident.''
However, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Helivi Holland said the autopsy report showed that the victim was trying to get away.
The couple's relationship was marked by fights and abuse, Holland said.
Catherine Johnson, the victim's mother, testified that her daughter talked to her about Richardson's abusive behavior, although she never saw any cuts or bruises on her daughter's body.
``She told me he was abusing her,'' she said. ``He cussed her out and called her all kinds of names.''
Prosecutors also presented evidence that Richardson had made an earlier threat to kill Johnson.
While Richardson was out on bond on the murder charges, he was arrested May 1 with two other men during the largest crack cocaine seizure in the city's history, police said. The confiscated drugs were valued at $72,000. That trial is scheduled for September.
KEYWORDS: MURDER SHOOTING TRIAL by CNB