This case out of Charleston, West Virginia is drawing strong allusions to the deaths of Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis.
According to the Charleston Gazette-Mail, 62-year-old William Pulliam shot 15-year-old James Means twice in the abdomen, killing him.
Pulliam was reportedly not allowed to have a gun due to a prior domestic violence convicition.
Police say that Pulliam showed no remorse in killing Means, saying, “The way I look at it, that’s another piece of trash off the street.”
The Charleston police have asked federal authorities to determine if Means’ death was a hate crime.
Witnesses say that Pulliam and Means “physically bumped into each other” near a Dollar General. After the “argument,” Pulliam entered the story and Means went with friends to a nearby porch of one of their grandmothers. After Pulliam left the store, he walked past the porch where Means and his friends were. After another argument, Means crossed the street where Pulliam was, and Pulliam shot him.
One of Means’ friends, 14-year-old Teonno White says that he’s called the police about Pulliam before. He told them that Pulliam would pick on his little brother. “One time I went over there to talk to him about it, I said, ‘You’ve got to quit picking on my little brother, that doesn’t look right.’ He said, ‘Get the [expletive] off my property.’ He said I need to go on with my nappy Latino self. He’s just a real bad guy.”
James’ family says that he could light up a room, even on the darkest of days.
“My son is in a safer place now, and we all love him. We know that justice is going to succeed in this matter. We are not going to put it in our hands. We are going to let the law put it in their hands.” said his mother, Nafia Adkins.
“We just want everybody know that we don’t hold a grudge, so nobody else should hold a grudge. We all have to forgive. James was an awesome kid,” she said. “(He) could put a smile on anybody’s face, no matter the situation.” said his aunt, Teresa Means said.
According to the criminal complaint, after the killing Means, Pulliam says he ate dinner then went to a friend’s house.
We’ll bring you the latest updates in this story as soon as they are available.
