The North Charleston, S.C., Police Department has declined to pursue criminal charges against a man who went after and then fatally shot an unarmed 15-year-old boy in a car theft.
Derrick Grant was killed Jan. 17 by 24-year-old Quadarrel Lamont Morton, who claimed that the teen repeatedly reached into the stolen car, the Post and Courier reports. No weapon was retrieved from the 15-year-oldβs body or from inside the vehicle, police spokesperson Spencer Pryor confirmed Monday.
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Still, according to the police statement, detectives consulted with prosecutors and determined that it made no sense to prosecute the case.
βThe death of [Derrick Grant] is a tragedy for his family and for this community,β the police said. βWe have determined that this incident, however tragic, is not reasonably prosecutable under the law.β
As the Post and Courier notes, state law allows individuals to use deadly force βif they reasonably fear an imminent threat of serious injury,β even if it turns out that that was not the case.
And so the teenβs family is now struggling with their loss and trying to understand why Morton did not wait for police to arrive before engaging with him.
According to an attorney representing the family, Mark Peper, the police told them that Morton was within his rights to make a citizenβs arrest over the stolen vehicle.
According to Peper, no one witnessed enough of the incident to say what Derrick did during the confrontation, leaving Mortonβs words as the main account of what happened.
βItβs tragic that this individual didnβt do what most citizens do: You call the police and wait,β he said. βYou donβt pack heat and go out and hold the guy at gunpoint. Thatβs not sitting well with the family.β
The incident began Jan. 16 when Morton reported his girlfriendβs car stolen from outside a convenience store. The sedan showed up the very next morning, for some inexplicable reason, near the home where the couple live. Authorities have not been able to find a connection between Morton and Derrick.
At any rate, upon seeing he vehicle, Morton went outside with a gun. He reported that he saw someone get inside the car with a key, and asked the person to stop.
βHe reached for something. I fired once,β Morton told a dispatcher. βI saw him reach again. I fired one more time.β
Derrick died at the scene.
Neighbors who heard the gunfire looked out and saw the resulting scene, but none can say exactly what happened.
βThe only things weβre left with are the facts supplied to law enforcement, and if those facts are true, they say itβs justified,β Peper said. βI donβt know if weβll ever know what truly happened.β
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