BECKLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Man who shot a Woodrow Wilson High School student has been arrested.
On Sunday, May 2, 2021, at 9:24 p.m., officers from the Beckley Police Department were dispatched to a shooting in the 500 Block of Terrill Street. Officers and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) who were responding to the shooting were flagged down on S. Fayette Street at Truman Avenue by a vehicle whose occupants were transporting the victim to the hospital.
Officers observed the victim, identified as Dwayne Marquette Richardson Jr. suffering from a single gunshot wound to his chest area. EMS immediately began providing life-saving measures while transporting the victim to Raleigh General Hospital. The victim was flown by helicopter to a Charleston Area Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
An investigation conducted by the Beckley Police Department Detective Bureau revealed that the victim had been present at 509 Terrill Street with a group of acquaintances before the shooting. Initial interviews of these individuals provided conflicting information about the shooting incident’s location and the circumstances surrounding the victim being shot.
Based on these conflicting statements and physical evidence discovered outside of the residence, detectives obtained a search warrant for the residence located at 509 Terrill Street. During the subsequent search, numerous items of physical evidence were documented and seized for future analysis.
Additional interviews were conducted on May 3rd and May 4th, including the interview of Jeriamyah Jacob Fortner. As a result of these interviews and the investigative findings, it was determined that Fortner inadvertently shot Richardson while recklessly handling an AR-15 rifle. On May 5, 2021, warrants were obtained for Fortner.
On May 5, 2021, at 3:40 p.m., Fortner, accompanied by his attorney, turned himself into the Beckley Police Department members. Fortner was processed and then transported to the Southern Regional Jail pending his initial arraignment.
