Fatal shooting may have been self-defense

Murder charges are filed, but preliminary report says victim was part of a home invasion robbery

RALEIGH -- ******

CORRECTION

A story in the Triangle & Co. section on Saturday about the death of a teenager incorrectly reported the length of time that Edward Lee Harris spent in prison for second-degree murder. Harris served more than 11 years in prison for the crime.

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The man police have accused of murdering a teenager Thursday night may have fired his gun in self-defense.

Edward Lee Harris, 31, was charged with the murder of James Tony Lee, 18, in front of a townhouse complex near St. Augustine's College, police reported.

But Sharon Artis, a spokeswoman with the state medical examiner's office, said Friday that a preliminary autopsy report indicated that Lee was involved in a home invasion robbery when he was shot.

A second man, Brian Lee Cannady, 19, of 608 Culpepper Road in Raleigh, has also been charged with attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon. A police report listed the victim in the robbery attempt as Edward Lee Harris.

Police have accused Cannady of using a handgun to try to take an undisclosed amount of cash from Harris. The warrant also states that Harris' life was "threatened and endangered" during the attempted robbery.

Raleigh police spokesman Jim Sughrue declined to discuss the shooting or why Harris had been charged with murder if he was defending himself.

Lee's last known address is 7006 Longstreet Drive. He was shot about 8 p.m. at Milburnie Road and Booker Drive, police said. Harris lives at 2040-104 Booker Drive.

Police found Lee lying on the grass near the Washington Terrace apartments.

Officers arrested Harris on Friday. He also was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon. Harris finished an 11-month sentence for second-degree murder in January 2006, according to state records.

Lee and Cannady have lengthy criminal histories, state records show. Lee had been out of prison for little more than a year after he was sentenced in 2006 to one year and three months for felony drug dealing. Prior to that conviction, Lee served 10 months in prison for multiple counts of felony breaking and entering in 2005, state records show.

Cannady's criminal history dates to 2005, with multiple felony convictions for drugs, state records show.

Harris remains in the Wake County jail without benefit of bail on the murder charge, a jail spokesman said. Cannady also is at the Wake County jail in lieu of $10,000 bail, court records show.