Before he died, Archie Eversole told multiple people he’d been shot in his home and that the shooter was still there. But he never pointed to his brother, a DeKalb County police investigator testified during Thursday’s preliminary hearing for the man charged in the Atlanta rapper’s killing.
Alexander Krause, 41, was arrested shortly after the March 25 shooting, and his assault charge was upgraded to malice murder after Eversole, known for his 2002 hit “We Ready,” died nine days later.
On Thursday, DeKalb Magistrate Judge Joshua Davis found enough evidence to send that charge to Superior Court, where it will be investigated by the district attorney and could eventually be considered by a grand jury.
Eversole’s manager, John Williams, was in court for a bond hearing last week and called the shooting an accident, Channel 2 Action News reported. The brothers, who lived together, had a history of feuding, but they hadn’t had any fights in recent months, and Krause wouldn’t intentionally kill his 37-year-old brother, Williams said.
That March day, Eversole walked to a gas station at 4410 Snapfinger Woods Drive with a gunshot wound to the head and a gash on his forehead, Detective R.L. Byars said at Thursday’s hearing. Eversole told a gas station employee and responding officers that he was shot inside his apartment as he slept and that the suspect was still there. He later told a nurse the same thing.
When officers got to his apartment, which Byars said was almost immediately after the shooting, they found blood on the front door that had no sign of forced entry. Krause then came to the door with his hands up and blood on his sock, shoe and his pants leg near the knee, Byars added. No one else was home, and Krause had not called 911.
“Mr. Krause said he was checking on his brother,” Byars said.
More blood was found along the path Eversole likely took as he made his way to the gas station, which is just around the corner from his home, Byars said, and a pool of it had formed in Eversole’s bedroom, where police believe he was shot. There also were signs of forced entry into his bedroom that appeared to have happened recently, as there was debris around it.
“Overall, there were obvious signs of a struggle,” Byars said.
Bullets later found inside Krause’s bedroom closet matched the caliber of shell casings and a bloody gun found in Eversole’s bedroom, Byars said.
Krause’s defense attorney, David Schnipper, noted that Eversole never identified his client by name as the shooter. No other person was investigated, Byars confirmed when Schnipper asked.
Investigators were unable to interview Eversole due to the severity of his condition, Byars said.
Noting that no witnesses identified Krause as the killer, Schnipper argued there was no probable cause for a malice murder charge and asked that it be dismissed or downgraded to involuntary manslaughter. But the judge declined and also declined to set a bond after it had been denied last week.
If the case is presented to the grand jury, it will be up to jurors to decide if there is enough evidence to indict Krause.
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