Pensacola, Fl
The Cordova community wraps their heads around a shooting that kills a 15-year-old and a 25-year-old shooter behind bars.
Hearing something like this happening, residents next door to Anorky Moreton said it was very disturbing.
Moreton is one of the many people who live in this Cordova region who say they lost words after the teen was shot and killed outside Grove Trinity Point Apartments.
The police did not release the victim’s name in the shooting but did tell FOX13 that he had broken into Alfred Kirkham’s car when he noticed it. The teenager tried to run, but the owner chased and shot him multiple times.
“The whole situation is sad because the person who killed the young man is in prison now and we have another young man who we lost on the streets,” said Erica Gray, a community member.
Police say Kirkham is charged with second-degree murder. Legal experts say it should be asking the public questions about Stand Your Ground laws.
Mark Missler is a criminal attorney in Rosenblum and Reisen. He says the Alfred Kirkham case is one that has caught the attention of legal experts across Memphis.
“This is the situation where a person was defending his property and unfortunately used deadly force to defend it. In Tennessee, you cannot use lethal force to protect property,” Misler said.
Missler says it would be difficult to argue with the “standing on the ground” law in this situation. Memphis police said the 15-year-old victim did not have a weapon during the storming of the car, but the shooter believed he was seeking a weapon as he ran.
“It is not illegal to chase someone. If someone is stealing your property, you can chase them. That’s not the problem. The problem is whether you are shooting and the only way to justify this is if you reasonably believe they were seeking to get …” a weapon.
Karkam is scheduled to appear before the court on Wednesday morning at 9 am.
