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Thursday, December 04, 2008 11:02 AM Search warrant: shotgun, spent shells in Kenly Lawyer for Witcher family says that doesn't prove who fired shots By Antonio Velarde | Times Staff Writer SMITHFIELD - A search warrant returned Tuesday by the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation revealed that a spent shotgun casing and a 12-gauge shotgun were found along with other items at the home of a Kenly man who was shot and killed by Johnston County Sheriff's deputies Nov. 22. But a lawyer hired by the family of Reginald Lee Witcher, 54, of 2349 Glendale Road, claims that doesn't prove the sheriff's office's belief that Witcher shot at deputies before they killed him. According to an affidavit attachment to the search warrant, after EMS units were called to the residence that Saturday night to help an injured person, responders encountered several intoxicated individuals. The information, provided by the Johnston County Sheriff's Office, says deputies Adam Jameson Case and Joel Keith Garner were called to the residence to assist, after which Witcher shot at them with a shotgun through the front door from inside his residence. The report states Garner, who was injured by flying glass and debris from the blast, returned fire and shot Witcher. Witcher and a dog inside the residence were found dead. Since the incident, there has been dispute among neighbors and officials about what transpired the evening of the shooting and whether Witcher was armed when deputies shot him. The warrant reveals that a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun and a spent shotgun casing were found at the property, along with a lead projectile, unfired shotgun casings and other items. The sheriff's office has stated Witcher used a shotgun on deputies. But Richard Hunter, an attorney hired by Witcher's family to do an independent investigation, said that doesn't prove Witcher fired at deputies. He said the Witchers were avid hunters and firearms enthusiasts, owning several guns at their home and having taken firearm safety classes together. In addition, he said, Jenny Mooney, the wife of Thomas Wayne Mooney, who has disputed the sheriff's office's account of the shooting, reported having found a spent shotgun shell in the Witchers' yard the night Witcher was shot. He said the family is having ballistics tests and other tests done to determine who fired shots that night. "We want to have better information," he said. avelarde@wilsontimes.com | 265-7868 |
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