Two security guards have been charged with impersonating a police officer following a bizarre chain of events Saturday night that resulted in the death of an unarmed 18-year-old man.
Candy Grimes, the mother of the dead teen, insisted Monday that she witnessed her son being run over by one of the guards after he had been shot, an assertion police dispute.
DeKalb County Public Safety Director William Miller said Ervin Jefferson, 18, died from a single gunshot wound to the chest and, that while he had crawled under a car after the shooting, the vehicle never moved from the scene.
"I saw him shoot my son," Grimes told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution by phone Monday. She said police have ignored her claims before she cut the interview short to tend to her distraught daughter.
Jefferson, who was apparently unarmed, had allegedly approached the guard, Curtis Scott, in a "threatening manner," Miller said.
No charges have been brought against the 25-year-old Scott in connection with Jefferson's shooting, though police are still investigating, Miller said.
Grimes said she wants to see Scott charged with her son's death.
Scott and Gary Jackson, 26, told police they had spotted a suspicious vehicle, with four female passengers, parked just outside the Village at Wesley Chapel Apartments, where Scott and Jackson are employed as security.
A female resident of the Village apartments said the women had been harassing her, Miller said. He said he did not know whether the guards were aware of that complaint when they approached the car.
Scott and Jackson allegedly told the women they were police officers and illegally detained them at the scene, police say.
From there, events grew chaotic.
According to police, Scott and Jackson came under fire from a gunman inside a residence at 2622 Pleasantwood Drive. The suspected shooter, Bobby Hubbard Jr., 35, was also arrested and charged with reckless conduct and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, authorities said.
As the gunfight unfolded, Jefferson drove up to confront the women who were allegedly harassing his sister. He apparently thought the guards were affiliated with the women, Miller said.
Scott contacted 911 at 10:29 p.m. and said he was being fired upon and that he had shot Jefferson, police say. Jackson, meanwhile, had returned fire with the gunman at 2622 Pleasantwood. No injuries were reported.
Miller said he did not know if Scott and Jackson were licensed to carry firearms. "If their lives are being threatened, they have a right to respond appropriately," he said.
According to Miller, Jefferson "possibly threatened to kill" the guard.
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