Never Before Revealed Info About CMPD Deadly Shooting
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – With a July 20 criminal trial date rapidly approaching, CMPD Officer Wes Kerrick’s attorneys filed multiple motions Friday, including a “not guilty” plea in the 2013 shooting death of Jonathan Ferrell. George Laughrun and Michael Greene also filed a motion to dismiss the voluntary manslaughter charge their client faces, saying the state had no grounds to re-submit an indictment to a second grand jury after the first grand jury declined to indict the officer.Β
The attorneys also cited unusually high publicity in this case as grounds for a change of venue and moving the trial out of Mecklenburg County, as well as permission to question potential jurors privately, permission to take the jury to the crime scene, prevent the state from referring to Ferrell as “victim” and sequester witnesses.Β
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One of the most detailed documents is the eight-page motion for change of venue. It outlines what Kerrick says happened that night on September 14, including that Ferrell never told officers he needed help or had been in a car accident, disobeyed multiple orders to stop advancing and 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 own waistband. After that shot, Kerrick says he and Ferrell fell to the ground in a ditch and fought, with Ferrell on top of Kerrick.
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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.
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Kerrick fired 12 shots that night. 10 hit Ferrell. Kerrick remains on unpaid leave with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department as this case moves through the court system.
