2 killed, 2 injured in shooting

Two teens have been arrested but not charged with homicide

DURHAM -- The younger brother of one of the Eve Carson murder suspects was shot to death Saturday night at a party that left another teen dead and two others injured.

Shelton Henderson Jr., 19, had recently testified before a federal grand jury, which indicted his older brother Demario Atwater, 22, on fatal carjacking, armed carjacking and felony firearms charges, including possession of an improperly registered sawed-off shotgun.

Henderson's body was found by police outside the townhouse where the party took place. A second teen, Nathan Elmoore, 17, died of gunshot wounds after being taken to Duke Hospital in critical condition, police said.

Christopher Hunter, 16, and James Downey, 21, were treated at Duke hospital with gunshot wounds that were not considered life-threatening.

Police arrested two teens Sunday in connection with the shooting, which took place shortly before 11:30 p.m., but neither suspect has been charged with homicide in the continuing investigation.

Deamonte Tavaris Brooks, 18, has been charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury in connection with the shooting of Hunter and Downey, the two surviving victims, police said. Dylan Shaqaun Turner, 17, has been charged with possession of a firearm by a minor. Neither had a significant criminal record.

Henderson's brother, Atwater, is facing a litany of charges in Orange County, including first-degree murder. District Attorney Jim Woodall has already announced a plan to pursue the death penalty against Atwater. Atwater, 22, is due back in federal court in Winston-Salem on Nov. 17 and Superior Court in Hillsborough on Nov 24.

Woodall and Chapel Hill Police Chief Brian Curran said Sunday that their cases against Atwater and Laurence Lovette, 17, the other suspect in Carson's death, do not hinge on the testimony of Henderson, who they confirmed is Atwater's brother. They also said Henderson would not have been at risk of attempts to silence him concerning his limited knowledge of the case of Carson, who was president of the student body at UNC-Chapel Hill.

"Based on our case, he wouldn't be in any jeopardy," said Woodall. "The state believes it's going to have multiple witnesses to make its case."

Court records show that investigators have recorded testimony from at least five witnesses, including Henderson, Atwater's mother, two friends and another informant who Curran says is in witness protection.

Henderson spent a night in the Durham County jail in August on a drug-dealing charge, a jail spokesperson said. Court records indicate the felony charge was still pending at the time of his death and that Henderson twice failed to appear in court for hearings.

April Swift of Goldsboro, a student at N.C. Central University who volunteers in programs that combat gang involvement and teen pregnancies, said Henderson, whom she knew only as J.J., was not the target Saturday night. He had been staying with friends outside the city when he decided to go to the party, she said.

"He was really trying to stay out of trouble," Swift said. "He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's a real tragedy. He just chose to go out with friends and got killed."

The shootings shook a quiet neighborhood in Old North Durham. The complex where the shootings took place is composed of eight well-kept townhouse units that run along a private driveway stretching between Mangum Street and Glendale Avenue.

"It's usually kind of an oasis back in there," said Dewey Williams, 53, surveying the fallen leaves from trees that shroud the townhouses. "It's been staggering. This has not been the typical experience of my living here, but when you see a dead body lying outside your home and when the police use your vehicle to tie off a crime scene, it's a jolt to your emotional system."

Neighbors said the party started about 8 p.m. Saturday. By 11 p.m., there were 15 to 20 teens at 906 Glendale Ave., Unit B. The host was a teen whose mother was away for the weekend.

The mother screamed and sobbed when she arrived Sunday afternoon to find her home in disarray, police crime tape inside and fingerprinting dust on her front door. She declined to speak to a reporter, but Williams said she had been working long hours lately and leaving her son alone in the home.

Denille Mayo, 28, said, "She's a very hard worker. She stays on him." Mayo had dropped her children off with her own mother in the townhouse complex Saturday night.

Mayo knew only the son's nickname and said he was 16 or 17 years old. He has not been charged with any crime.

James Lillie, a football coach at East Chapel Hill High School who had coached Elmoore at Southern High in 2005 and 2006, arrived at the crime scene Sunday afternoon trying to confirm that his former player was one of the dead.

"I can't even cry no more," said Lillie. "Those kids are like my sons. I'm just looking for answers. These kids got to put the guns down."

(Staff writers Jim Nesbitt and Anne Blythe contributed to this report.)