Autopsy: Disagreement escalates to shooting death in Asheville, man charged with murder

ASHEVILLE — Three months after an Arden man died from a gunshot wound in Mission Hospital on Nov. 29, newly-released documents from the North Carolina medical examiner reveal more details into what led to his death.

Jeremy Greer, 41, was a passenger in a vehicle when a disagreement with someone else in the car escalated, and his fellow passenger shot him in the chest, according to his death investigation and autopsy reports obtained by the Citizen Times.

Law enforcement’s preliminary investigation revealed that Greer had been living with his father in Ashe County for a month before his dad drove him to Boone on Nov. 27 or Nov. 28 to meet up with the person suspected of shooting him, who then drove Greer to Asheville.

Greer was staying in the suspected shooter’s home, and on Nov. 29, Greer rode with the man and his girlfriend to pick up a roommate from work. Greer then asked to be dropped off at an empty retail store parking lot in South Asheville, according to the death investigation report.

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The man told law enforcement that Greer’s behavior changed “like a switch being flipped” when he declined to drive to South Asheville, the report said.

The suspected shooter told law enforcement he believed Greer had a gun in his backpack and when he saw Greer reach toward it during the argument, he shot Greer with his own handgun, thinking that Greer was going for his gun. The handgun is listed as a 9 mm Glock 17 pistol, according to an incident report obtained by the Citizen Times.

“(Law enforcement) did note that when Mr. Greer’s belongings were searched, no weapon was located,” the report said.

After he was shot, Greer got out of the vehicle and collapsed “in the middle of the street,” the report also said. The shooter stayed with Greer and called 911.

Buncombe County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the scene on Cherry Tree Drive in Asheville around 10:22 p.m. Firefighters were the first to arrive, and established that Greer still had a pulse, the report said.

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Greer “coded,” or lost pulses, while being loaded into the ambulance by EMS, according to the report. He was rushed to Mission Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the Emergency Department.

According to his autopsy report, Greer was shot at approximately 10:20 p.m. and died just over 30 minutes later, at 10:59 p.m.

"Jeremy was a wonderful, kind, intelligent, funny person who would never harm anyone," his mother, Sheila Cope, told the Citizen Times. "I do not know this person that shot him, and I don't know why it happened. It's just devastated, completely devastated my life forever."

Eric Jeron Wilson of Candler, 36, was arrested early in the morning on Nov. 30 charged with second-degree murder in Greer’s death. Wilson was originally held at the Buncombe County Detention Facility under no bond but is no longer listed on the jail’s online database.

Wilson's attorney, Ted Besen, told the Citizen Times that his family posted his bond, which Besen believes was set at $200,000.

Wilson’s home address on Cherry Tree Drive, listed in his arrest report, matches the address that the sheriff's incident report says the homicide occurred. He has a court date of Feb. 7 in Buncombe County District Court.

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Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at rober@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Autopsy reveals a disagreement escalated to an Asheville murder