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Davidson County deputies won't be charged in shooting
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Published: August 27, 2008
The three Davidson County sheriff's deputies who fatally shot a 58-year-old man holding several people hostage in May will not be charged, District Attorney Garry Frank said today.
The State Bureau of Investigation completed its investigation and sent its report to Frank last month. On Tuesday, Frank sent a letter back saying that he found no basis for charging the deputies.
Lt. Marvin K. Potter, Lt. Edwin Thomas Curry and Deputy James Felton Hull Jr. shot Aubrey Roy Roseberry on May 7 after a three-hour standoff with deputies from the Davidson County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies had responded earlier in the day when Roseberry complained that his neighbors were painting their barn with a sprayer and that paint damaged his cars.
Roseberry shot his neighbor Tabitha Spivey, her 17-year-old daughter, her 13-year-old son and her daughter's boyfriend, Daniel Spainhour. Spainhour managed to escape, but Roseberry held Spivey and her children hostage at gunpoint at their house on Shuford Everhart Road, east of Lexington.
Sheriff David Grice said that Spivey, her children and Spainhour are all out of the hospital and still recovering from their injuries.
Capt. Tony Roberson of the Davidson County Sheriff's Office negotiated with Roseberry during the standoff and Roseberry kept saying that he would kill anyone who came near the house, according to search warrants filed by SBI agent Gerald R. Thomas.
Roseberry came out of the house holding a pistol and refusing to drop it, authorities said. That's when he was shot, the search warrants said.
According to an autopsy report, Roseberry was shot three times.
Grice said the deputies had no choice but to use deadly force.
"We were secure in that level of force in that particular circumstance and confident that no charges would be brought against the officers," he said.
The deputies were placed on administrative duty for two weeks after the shooting, Grice said.
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