A 19-year-old man has been charged in connection to the shooting death of his friend.
Lamont Rodgers was driving around with his friends, Kenneth Yearby and Charles Willis, on Jan. 20 near North Avenue. While they were driving, Yearby told the others to pull over so he could "go to the store," according to the criminal complaint.
Once stopped, Rodgers and Yearby exited the vehicle and entered a different vehicle that was in the parking lot of Brothers Groceries and left running.
At that point, the man who owned the vehicle exited the store and told Rodgers and Yearby to exit the vehicle. Rodgers and Yearby attempted to drive off in the vehicle, but accidentally drove forward over a piece of concrete, causing the car to be stuck.
Yearby and Rodgers then exited the vehicle, and the man whose parked car they were inside said one of them produced a firearm and shot at him multiple times.
Brothers Groceries shared this surveillance footage of the incident:
In interviews with police, Rodgers said as he and Yearby were running from the parked vehicle when he heard gunshots and saw that the window of the parked car was shattered. He said he also heard Yearby say he was shot.
Rodgers also told police that at the time he and Yearby were running from the vehicle, Willis fired a gun three to four times in the direction of them and the store. Rodgers said he also fired a gun in the direction of the store one time.
Rodgers and Yearby then got back into the vehicle with Willis, and Willis drove to St. Joseph's Hospital where they dropped off Yearby.
Yearby later died at the hospital from a through and through gunshot wound to his upper right chest.
Rodgers said he does not believe he shot Yearby, as Yearby was not near his gunfire, and rather he believes that Willis was the one who shot him.
Rodgers has been charged with two counts of second degree recklessly endangering safety - PTAC, as party to a crime. He faces up to $125,000 in fines and/or up to 35 years in prison.
