Posted on 08/28/2002 8:08:04 AM PDT by oyez
The message was clear, said Donnie Weathers as he and his family packed to leave Frayser on Tuesday.
Shortly after midnight, an unidentified gunman fired three shots into the brick home at 2814 Northmeade.
The shooting came two days after Weathers used a .12-gauge shotgun he bought for deer hunting to shoot at two suspects he caught breaking into his house.
Otis Yarbrough, 19, who lived a block away, was hit in the head by gunfire and died on the scene. The other suspect ran from the house. Police said Tuesday they have identified the suspect and were searching for him.
No one was injured Tuesday morning, but the shooting prompted Weathers, 64, to move from the home where he and his wife have lived for 35 years.
Tuesday afternoon, a moving truck was parked in his driveway and the Weathers family was busy packing.
"When nightfall comes we will be gone," Weathers said. "Our lives are in danger and we are being forced from our home all because I was trying to protect my home."
Police said Weathers told officers one of the suspects appeared to be armed with a rifle. Investigators said Tuesday the weapon was a BB gun.
"I feared for my life after I got up to see what this noise was and found two young guys, who I don't know, on my patio," Weathers said. "I fired two shots and one of them fell and the other one ran.
"I regret this happened," he said.
The District Attorney General's Office ruled the shooting a justifiable homicide Tuesday after reviewing the case and deciding Weathers acted in self-defense. Weathers will not be charged.
This still did not make him rest easy at night, not in a neighborhood where an angry crowd of the dead man's relatives and friends quickly gathered Sunday afternoon as word spread of the shooting.
"I have not slept since Saturday," Weathers said. "Tuesday the gunshots went pow, pow, pow and woke me up just as I was drifting off."
The shooting occurred around midnight as Weathers, his wife and his two adult children were going to bed.
"One of the bullets shattered the glass door on the garage and is lodged in the wall above the washing machine," he said. "We spent the night huddled together in the hall afraid to move."
He said they called 911 on cellular phones and after 30 minutes two patrol officers arrived and took a report.
"I don't know if there was some sort of miscommunication or what, but after nine calls to 911 the police got here 30 minutes later," he said.
Police dispatchers said they got the call at midnight and dispatched the call to the North Precinct immediately. Further details about how police processed the call were not available.
Police took a report on the shooting at 12:30 a.m., but did not remain at the home, Weathers said.
Tuesday morning, he hired a private security company to guard his home.
"I don't want to learn that after we leave today that our home has been reduced to ashes," Weathers said about his decision to hire the armed guard, who watched as the family loaded boxes into the moving truck.
"It saddens me beyond words to be leaving a place we have called home for 35 years. But we are scared."
Lt. E. Vidulich at the North Precinct said that when police learned Tuesday afternoon that Weathers was moving, officers remained on the scene to ensure the family's safety.
Weathers bought the home in 1967, because it was close to Millington. After he retired after 23 years in the Navy, Weathers and his wife decided to stay in the home where they raised their children.
"We were on no timetable to move after 35 years," he said. "When the neighborhood started to change we talked about moving but were in no hurry."
As he walked in his backyard Tuesday surveying his cucumber crop and his apple tree, he said he doesn't recognize his neighborhood anymore.
"I mean when we moved here it was a nice place, but it has progressively gone down hill," he said. "I know some of the longtime neighbors, but I have had problems out of the newer neighbors."
An elderly neighbor refused to talk about the shooting or the neighborhood because she also is afraid. Another neighbor, Ellen Richardson, 59, said she has lived next door for about 21 years and that the Weatherses have been excellent neighbors.
"I hate he's moving," Richardson said. "He's a good neighbor. Now I'm scared of what's going to move in when he moves out.''
Weathers said no one has tried to break into his home before, but windows have been broken by rock-throwers and several items have been stolen from his backyard.
"On July Fourth, I slept with my gun because there were so many guys outside in front of my house setting off firecrackers," he said.
"I didn't know what could happen. I was scared that night and I was scared Sunday and last night. I feel terrible about it all, but what was I supposed to do?"
He said the one thing he can do now is protect his family. He said they are moving to a new home.
"Where we're going I can't say. We're frightened and not young anymore. It is time to go, because things have gotten bad. Really bad here."
- Yolanda Jones: 529-2380
Staff reporter Kevin McKenzie contributed to this story.
That's typical for the Memphis PD which is really a patronage job and not a very professional oraganization, hence Memphis has a higher murder rate than DC.
From what I know of Memphis, I'm guessing Mr. Weathers is black as have been most of his longtime neighbors. What has changed is the culture which seems to celebrate gangsterism and support criminals.
What is WRONG with people?
You could very well be right, but there are several clue in the article to lead me to believe otherwise. First of all, Mr. Weathers had a shotgun he bought for deer-hunting, which is not common among blacks, at least around here (Indiana). Second, Mr. Weathers remark "When the neighborhood started to change we talked about moving but were in no hurry." and "I mean when we moved here it was a nice place, but it has progressively gone down hill," are typical of what I hear from people whose neighborhoods are becoming more "diverse".
I like this use of the term progressive. No pun intended I am sure.
I guess not everyone is a warrior. I'd be sitting up nights, armed, waiting for these scumbags to return.
I'm betting they'd run out of nerve before I run out of ammo.
Roxbury vs. W. Roxbury perhaps?
Ooooh. Even further apart on the diversity spectrum.
This is of course obvious to regular readers of this site, but it bears repeating for those from West Palm Beach County:
Never bring a BB gun to a (real) gunfight.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.