DATE: Wednesday, August 13, 1997            TAG: 9708131005

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JANIE BRYANT, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:   62 lines

CHARGES CONNECTED TO SLAYING DISMISSED AGAINST ONE BROTHER A YOUNGER BROTHER IS STILL A SUSPECT IN THE SHOOTING OF MICHAEL L. HEDGE.

A judge dismissed charges against one of two brothers arrested last month in connection with the June 15 shooting of Michael L. Hedge after a witness could not place him at the scene at the time of the shooting.

General District Court Judge Morton Whitlow dismissed charges related to the shooting during a preliminary hearing for 23-year-old Anthony Hill of the 2800 block of Shady Lane.

The witness, one of Hedge's friends, testified Tuesday that four people drove up to the basketball court behind Simonsdale Elementary School that night.

He said they played a pickup game, but then a fight started between Hedge, 19, and one of the four. The others punched and kicked Hedge, he said.

Hedge told the witness to get the car, which was parked nearby. Hedge was trying to get away when one of the four shot him, the witness said.

Elliott Hill, the 15-year-old brother of Anthony Hill, was indicted by a grand jury last week, and a Nov. 12 trial has been scheduled. Elliott Hill has been accused of firing the gun.

Deputy Commonwealth Attorney Michael J. Massie said he was not surprised that the witness did not identify the older brother, Anthony Hill, as being among the four who attacked Hedge.

``What happened was, he picked Anthony out of a photo lineup,'' said Massie. ``So that's why Anthony was charged.''

But after seeing Anthony Hill on television, Massie said, the witness told police he was not the gunman.

``So they put another photo lineup together and that's when (the witness) picked out Anthony's brother as the shooter,'' he said.

Massie said that the witness also expressed uncertainty about whether the older Hill was there at all.

``That's why I asked him today, `Do you see any of the people in the courtroom who were beating up Michael Hedge?' '' Massie said.

``We don't want the wrong person, and if he had nothing to do with it, we don't want him,'' said Massie.

The defense attorney, Darell Sayer, praised the witness after the hearing, saying he knew that Hedge's friend was under tremendous pressure.

``I want to emphasize, this guy is an honest person,'' he said. ``I feel for him. I feel for the family.''

The victim's mother and stepfather left the courtroom quickly, declining to comment on the hearing.

Both wore T-shirts like those worn by teen-age pall-bearers at Hedge's funeral.

The shirts have ``In Loving Memory'' and Hedge's full name painted on the back.

Hedge's mother, Debra Miller, also wore an orange ribbon pinned to her shirt like those given out at a neighborhood meeting sponsored by the Simonsdale Civic League after the shooting.

The color orange symbolizes basketball, which Hedge's mother said he loved.

Anthony Hill still faces unrelated charges, including possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and possession of stolen goods.

A preliminary hearing on those charges is scheduled for Sept. 9. The judge lowered Hill's $250,000 bond to $10,000. KEYWORDS: MURDER SHOOTING ARREST

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