Inside The Wes Kerrick Case

[gtxvideo vid=”3KPuz3bj” playlist=”” pid=”Bbt3TRDe” thumb=”http://player.gtxcel.com/thumbs/3KPuz3bj.jpg” vtitle=”kerrick timeline”]

CHARLOTTE, NC — The much anticipated criminal trial of CMPD Officer Wes Kerrick begins Monday at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse.  Kerrick’s attorneys wanted to move the case out of Mecklenburg County.  They say it will be impossible to seat 12 objective people here, but the judge denied their request twice.  WCCB Charlotte anchor Morgan Fogarty shows us what led to this point.

It started on Reedy Park Road in east Charlotte on September 14, 2013.  It was around 2:30am when 24-year-old Jonathan Ferrell wrecked his car.

Some have said Ferrell then went to this nearby home for help.  But the woman who lives there, Sarah McCartney, told WCCB Charlotte exclusively that Ferrell never asked for help, and tried to force his way inside.

She managed to get her front door shut, but her home security system was set off, and triggered a call for help.  Police were dispatched to what they were told was a home break-in in progress.  

“Please be advised they’re saying he’s kicking through the door. Be advised there is a child in the house,” said the 911 dispatcher to police.  

Kerrick’s attorney says that when police arrived, Ferrell was combative and aggressive.

“Jonathan Ferrell said ‘shoot me shoot me,'” says defense attorney George Laughrun.

In motions filed by Kerrick’s attorneys in April, the defense also alleges that Ferrell never told officers he needed help, disobeyed multiple orders to stop advancing, and refused to get on the ground.  Kerrick says he fired the first bullet after Ferrell sprinted toward him, was within arm’s reach and reached toward his waistband.  After that shot, Kerrick says he and Ferrell fell to the ground in a ditch and fought, with more than 200lb Ferrell on top of 157lb Kerrick.

Kerrick says Ferrell punched him in the face and grabbed his service weapon.  Then, Kerrick fired his gun “several times,” until he says he could get from underneath Ferrell and stop him from advancing.  Kerrick fired 12 shots that night; 10 hit Ferrell.  Investigators later learned Ferrell wasn’t armed.

“This is cold blooded murder.  This is not what the officer was trained to do,” says Ferrell family attorney Chris Chestnut.

Less than 24 hours after the shooting, Chief Rodney Monroe charged Kerrick with voluntary manslaughter.  Kerrick’s been suspended without pay since.  In January 2014, a grand jury declined to indict Kerrick.

“I think it shows the depth that the grand jury took this case,” said Laughrun.  “It wasn’t like a rubber stamp.”

The North Carolina Attorney General’s Office resubmitted the case, and one week later, Kerrick was indicted.  

In May, the City of Charlotte and CMPD settled a civil suit with Jonathan Ferrell’s family.  It’s rare for civil suits to be settled before criminal trials play out.

“Please note that the settlement contains no admission of fault or liability,” says City Attorney Bob Hagemann.

The Ferrells received $2.25 million.

“We’re pleased the city wanted to resolve the case early.  We think it was the right thing to do,” says Kerrick family attorney Charles Monnet.

There is dash cam video from the night of the shooting.  CMPD refused to release it publicly.  It will likely be presented at trial, although it’s not clear if the public, or only the jury, will see the video.