It has been two and a half months since the former New Hanover County deputy started being treated as a possible criminal for shooting to death an unarmed teenager he meant to arrest. Long can't live at home for fear of threats, his attorney said. He lost his job after the shooting and hasn't worked since.

This week, New Hanover County's lead prosecutor washed his hands of the case and passed Peyton Strickland's death investigation off to a special team of lawyers at the state Attorney General's Office. The new team of prosecutors will start from scratch, leaving Long in limbo with no end in sight.

"This is dragging out," said Richard Williford, Long's confidant and his pastor at Pine Valley Church of God in Wilmington. "He'd much rather get it over with. He can't get his life back on track with this uncertainty hanging over his head."

District Attorney Ben David told reporters Monday that he realized no matter how he decided to proceed with Long, the public might not trust his choice. The senior Superior Court judge in New Hanover County, W. Allen Cobb Jr., also bowed out of hearing any matters related to the case, citing close ties with the law enforcement community. A new judge will be assigned by state officials to cover the matter.

The move pleased Strickland's parents, Don and Kathy Strickland of Durham, who said the importance of the case justified the transfer.

Strickland's death has crushed his family. Kathy and Don Strickland sent their only son and youngest child to Wilmington last fall to study welding at Cape Fear Community College. Strickland, an avid fisherman, settled into a rental home with several buddies from back home in Durham.

Long, meanwhile, is in a sort of exile. He moved with his wife and two young children out of their home days after the shooting, spooked by death threats that Sheriff Sid Causey said were made by people seeking vengeance against Strickland's killer.

Long hasn't worked since that night, his attorney, J. Michael McGuinness, said. The sheriff fired Long a week after he botched the late-night raid to arrest Strickland on suspicion that he stole a PlayStation 3 video machine and beat the teenager who owned it. For a man who had spent all but two years of his career as a member of a heavily armed tactical response team at the Sheriff's Office, the sudden shift had been jolting.

Other reputable employers are wary of hiring Long until his fate in court is settled, Williford said.

"He keeps hearing, 'You come see us when all this is over,' " Williford said. "No one knows when that will be."

For now, Long and his family are living off charity. Money slipped in Christmas cards from members of their church and donations from officers he worked beside have sustained them since December, friends and former colleagues said.

Even those who want to see Long criminally punished for killing Strickland say he's due an answer about his fate.

"I think he ought to pay for this, sure," said Marc Benson, a former deputy and failed candidate for sheriff who has been critical of Long's actions. "But I feel sorry for the guy; I know he wants some answers. The Attorney General's Office will probably find another way to stall this."

In some ways, Long's advocates want the process to slow down a bit. David sent the case to a New Hanover County grand jury 10 days after Strickland died. Agents from the State Bureau of Investigation had not even handed over their final report to David then.

Erroneous indictment

In December, the grand jury foreman returned an indictment for second-degree murder but admitted the next day he checked the wrong box. He told a judge that the grand jury didn't have enough votes to indict Long.

That botched indictment has cast doubt on the case. Judge Cobb said in a letter to state court officials last week that the grand jury mistake made David's ability to handle the case "difficult, if not impossible."

McGuinness, Long's attorney, on Monday called on the Attorney General's Office to give Long's case immediate attention. He also invited special prosecutors to talk to Long about that night; investigators haven't interviewed Long since hours after he killed Strickland.

Regardless of the outcome of the case, it likely won't aid Long's career. His future in law enforcement ended the moment he unleashed a bullet through an unlocked door, striking the 18-year-old Strickland in the head. He understands that, said Williford, his pastor.

"No law enforcement agency will want to touch him," said Frank Snyder, a Wilmington doctor who worked with Long on the sheriff's Emergency Response Team. "If he is ever put in the role [of being an officer] again, he has this history. No department will put up with that sort of risk."