| Updated: 7/02/2009 6:35 pm |
Published: 6/30/2009 3:26 pm |
The fourth suspect in a deadly home invasion is in jail after pleading not guilty to capital murder charges Thursday morning.
Little Rock police arrested Antonio Terry, 16, Wednesday afternoon. His co-conspirators point to him as the shooter.
If convicted of capital murder, Antonio Terry and three others could potentially face the death penalty. Katie Pierce, Terry's mom, says she's horrified her son is involved and did everything she could to try to keep from ending up in jail.
"He started getting tattoos, getting tatted up, and the streets just stole him from me,” Pierce says.
Terry and three others are charged with breaking into the home of Maurice Clark, 67, on Tuesday, robbing and killing him. Terry denies shooting the homeowner, but his co-defendants say he did.
"He didn't have to be out there robbing anybody at all, trying to rob anyone, because we gave him everything,” Pierce says. “Everything you can ask for as a kid."
Pierce says her only son started acting out four years ago when he was 12, stealing even from her. He had been in the Division of Youth Services in Alexander three times, getting out most recently last May. Pierce wanted him to stay longer or be put in drug rehab, anywhere but out on the streets.
"We tried everything,” Pierce says. “I tried grounding him, taking phones from him, making him stay inside. It just got to the point where it was going to be his way or no way."
Now it is no way. He’s facing life in prison. And a mom is left feeling responsible for the pain the victim's family is enduring.
“I apologize to them,” Pierce says. “I know there's not much I can say to them because right now I know this is the worst thing but they're in my prayers too, because if my son did do this I want him to get justice."
She says she has not spoken to her son since his arrest. And during his brief court hearing Thursday morning he didn't look at her and she didn't see any remorse.
4th suspect in deadly home invasion in court
A fourth suspect charged in the deadly home invasion earlier this week made his first appearance in Little Rock District Court Thursday morning.
A public defender entered a not guilty plea for Antonio Terry, 16, on counts of capital murder, aggravated robbery, theft of property and fleeing.
The aggravated robbery charge stems from an attack on a woman getting into her car Tuesday morning. According to police, Terry flashed a gun and demanded the victim to get out of the car. She handed him her wallet and he ran away.
Court documents released Thursday indicate that Terry admits involvement in the robbery and home invasion of Maurice "Beau" Clark later Tuesday afternoon, but denies being the shooter.
An arrest affidavit, also released Thursday, conflicts with that account. Co-conspirator Marshaun Kendrick, 14, told police in a taped statement that Terry was the person who shot the homowner.
Police release names of suspects
LRPD detectives arrested a fourth suspect, Antonio Terry, 16, Wednesday afternoon in connection with a deadly Little Rock home invasion earlier this week.
Three suspects, all 17 and younger, are charged with capital murder for shooting Maurice "Beau" Clark, 67, in his home Tuesday afternoon during a robbery. Court documents released Wednesday indicate his three co-suspects point to Terry as the shooter. Those three all stood before a judge Wednesday morning in Little Rock District Court.
"It seems that some of our criminals are getting younger and younger," Lt. Terry Hastings with the Little Rock Police Department says.
A public defender entered not guilty pleas for three teenagers charged with murder, robbery and fleeing. The suspects are Thomas Caffery, 17, Marshaun Kendrick, 14, and Craig Woods, 15, who had tears running down his face during the brief hearing. All are from Little Rock.
"I'm sure if you'd asked these kids yesterday morning if they would have been involved in something like this, they would have all told you no way," Hastings said.
More information about what happened at #4 Lark Place Tuesday afternoon is being released. Pulaski County deputy prosecutor Jonathan Warren read aloud from an arrest report in court
"Statements were given. What happened was they wanted to 'hit a lick," Warren says.
That term is slang for stealing and robbing. According to court records, they hit Clark in the face with the butt of a rifle, stormed into his home, stole two guns and a flat screen TV and then shot him in the head before stealing his car.
After the hearing, none of the teens families wanted to talk. And no one answered the door at one of their homes Wednesday afternoon.
"They took away a friend. They took my friend," neighbor Willie Huff said.
Willie Huff lives two houses from Clark and says he saw three kids casing the house, even talking to Clark, a day before the home invasion.
"He was a pretty stout man," Huff says. "He is, he's a pretty strong man. I knew he could take care of himself. They caught him...they caught him off guard."
Court documents also show that after the homeowner was hit in the face with a gun he pleaded with the teenagers not to shoot him.
"Whether they were influenced by one person or it was a group decision or just a spur of the moment thing, they got involved in something that will basically destroy their lives," Hastings says.
After the robbery and murder, the four suspects wrecked the victim's car. They were then chased by police. One officer suffered a leg injury after arresting three of the suspects.
3 arrested for deadly home invasion
Little Rock Police want answers after a home invasion ended with death of a 67-year-old man. Police say it started as a break-in and when the victim caught the suspects they shot and killed him. This all happened on Lark Street near Chico and Baseline in southwest Little Rock where the victim lived.
The victim was Maurice Clark but neighbors say they knew him as Bo. His family members didn't want to appear on camera, but Mr. Clark's son told FOX16 the family still can't believe what happened.
Little Rock police say four armed men broke into the home on Lark street around 2:00 p.m. Tuesday. When Clark came downstairs to see what happened they shot him and stole his car. A witness told police what happened and an officer on Baseline caught up with men matching the descriptions of the shooters. Police say the suspects took off in that stolen car and they went to Wakefield Street, about three miles away, where they barrelled through a yard and crashed into a fence. That's when police arrested them.
"We don't know if those individuals are from the neighborhood or not," said Lt. Terry Hastings with Little Rock Police.
"They could have walked into anybody's house, anybody's, and my niece and kids were there today," said neighbor Sherilyn Watson.
Watson says after what happened she's ready to move. Before this the worst crimes in the neighborhood were a couple of break-ins. She's worried for her family's safety, especially since she believes her son had a brush with some of the suspects before Mr. Clark died.
"Two of the guys had approached my oldest son and asked him for a cigarette, I guess trying to rush him off or distract him," says Watson.
Watson is glad police have people in custody but she's going to miss the man who looked out for everyone in the neighborhood. "To walk out your door every morning or just sitting on your porch and he'd greet you, wave at you. It's going to be hard looking over there and not seeing him," she said.
Little Rock Police initially took 4 into custody but released one of them.
