Arrest made in homicide outside a Shelby bar
Police say they’ve arrested the man who shot and killed a teenager in the parking lot of a Shelby business on Saturday, April 2.
Roderick Jermaine Young was taken into custody Monday.
“He was arrested without incident,” said Sgt. Seth Treadway with the Shelby Police Department.
According to Treadway, Young is responsible for shooting and killing 18-year-old Zechariah Freeman of Shelby.
Young is also accused of shooting another person in the incident that happened at 12:30 a.m. in the parking lot of Skooterz Saloon at 1981 E. Dixon Blvd., in Shelby.
When Shelby Police officers arrived, they found Freeman dead from at least two bullet wounds.
Another man was found injured at the scene, and a man and woman who were also hit by bullets had driven themselves to the hospital. None suffered life-threatening injuries, and all were treated at Atrium Health Cleveland in Shelby.
Police said early on in the investigation that the shootout involved at least three different caliber guns, so this case isn’t over yet, Treadway said.
“We do anticipate more arrests and potentially more charges,” he said.
In an earlier interview with The Star, Shelby Police Chief Jeff Ledford said the gunfire started after an argument outside of the establishment.
He called the act of using guns to solve a disagreement unacceptable.
“The frustrating part is when you have a young person lose their life like that,” he said. “Anytime you have people indiscriminately firing a weapon, that’s unacceptable.”
Though the case still has a while to make it through the court system, Treadway said he hoped Freeman’s family finds some comfort in the arrest of a man police say pulled the trigger that took the teen's life.
“It's good that we can bring them some closure with an arrest,” he said.
Young, 38, of Shelby, is charged with murder and assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. He is currently in Cleveland County jail without bond.
Diane Turbyfill can be reached at 704-669-3334 and dturbyfill@shelbystar.com.
This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: Arrest made in homicide outside a Shelby bar
