THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 22, 1995 TAG: 9508220319
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Short : 45 lines
A 16-year-old Portsmouth youth who was shot early Saturday morning in an apartment died Sunday afternoon at a hospital, police reported Monday.
Deshawn Ray Jernigan, of the 700 block of 7th St., died as a result of a gunshot wound to the head, police spokesman G.A. Brown said.
The death brought to 24 the number of homicides reported this year in Portsmouth. There were 22 homicides reported for all of 1994.
The shooting occurred at approximately 1:40 a.m. Saturday in the Swanson Homes public housing complex, Brown said.
When police and emergency personnel arrived they found the victim in the apartment. He was taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where he died 1:03 p.m. Sunday.
An early police investigation indicated the slaying resulted from a dispute over a child who had been left at the apartment, Brown said.
Jernigan apparently had accompanied the child's father to pick up the child. When the mother returned to the apartment, she and the father began to argue, and the father struck her in the face, Brown said.
Police did not release the parents' names.
The mother then left the apartment to call police, Brown said. She then heard two gunshots.
According to a statement from the father, two other men were in the apartment, police said. As the father and Jernigan were leaving one of the men pulled out a revolver and fired two shots. One bullet hit Jernigan in the eye.
Both suspects fled the apartment in the direction of the Ida Barbour housing area, Brown said.
Police are still looking for them. One suspect was described as an 18 to 19-year-old black male, known as Spike. The other suspect - known as Manny - may reside somewhere in the Washington Park area of the city, Brown said.
Anyone with any information is asked to call Portsmouth police at 393-8536 or Crime Line at 488-7777.
KEYWORDS: MURDER SHOOTING by CNB