Alabama teen facing death penalty after killing man at Dollar General, sheriff says
A Russell County 16-year-old is facing capital murder charges after killing one man and shooting at another before stealing two vehicles he wrecked, the sheriff says.
Sheriff Heath Taylor said Alabama law prohibited his identifying the teen, who was taken to a Columbus hospital to be treated for injuries related to the second car crash. The suspect will have to be extradited back to Alabama to face charges, Taylor said.
He said authorities got multiple calls around 9:20 p.m. ,Wednesday, to the Dollar General at Alabama Highway 26 and Highway 51 in Hurtsboro, where they found 43-year-old Petorey Varner dead in the parking lot.
Their investigation revealed the teen had been hanging around outside the store, asking customers for a ride, when he and Varner apparently got into some dispute, the sheriff said.
The teen shot Varner several times, then made eye contact with a witness who ran back into the store as the teen chased him and shot twice, missing him, Taylor said. That was recorded on store video, giving investigators a description of the suspect, he said.
The boy fled in Varner’s white Hyundai, and a car matching that description soon was found wrecked on Macon County Road 10, the sheriff said.
Suspecting the teen was still near the car and might contact someone for a ride, three deputies remained there to guard the vehicle and question passersby, he said.
“We wanted to identify everybody coming by that scene, in case they were connected,” the sheriff said.
In about an hour, a white 2003 Chevy Yukon approached with its headlights off and only its “running lights” on, and the driver sped away when deputies tried to flag it down with their flashlights, Taylor said.
The deputies chased the Chevy that in minutes wrecked off the road, and they found the teen suspect inside, he said. The Yukon had been stolen from a nearby Macon County residence, where the keys had been left in the ignition, he said.
Having taken the Yukon, the teen had been traveling back to Hurtsboro, “because that’s where he lived,” Taylor said. The youth was taken into custody around 11 p.m., he said.
Both vehicles were extensively damaged, and they’ve yet to be searched to see if the gun used to shoot Varner is in one of them, he said.
Besides facing a capital murder charge in Varner’s death, the teen is accused of attempted murder for shooting at the witness, Taylor said. He likely will face auto theft charges for the Chevy stolen in Macon County, he said.
The first car theft will be an element of the capital murder case, the sheriff said.
‘Puzzling’
Taylor announced the arrest during a news conference Thursday with sheriff’s Lt. Jarrod Barr and District Attorney Rick Chancey, who said the case likely will be presented to a grand jury in October.
Such violence has a widespread impact in such a small, rural community, Chancey said.
“It affects the whole town,” he said.
Hurtsboro has approximately 600 residents, according to census data.
The teen immediately asked for an attorney, upon his arrest, and investigators still don’t know exactly why he shot Varner, as investigators found no evidence the two knew each other, Chancey said.
“Why this happened to me is puzzling,” he said.
Authorities said the teen had no driver’s license, and was not enrolled in any school. He so far is expected to be tried as an adult, but Alabama law still requires that his name be withheld, Chancey said.
