http://www.wyff4.com/news/23506255/detail.html
Sonny's Shooting: No Charges For Employees
Solicitor: Deadly Force Acceptable When Defending Life
POSTED: 11:21 am EDT May 10, 2010
UPDATED: 8:44 pm EDT May 10, 2010
GAFFNEY, S.C. --
The Seventh Circuit Solicitor will not pursue charges against Gaffney restaurant employees who opened fire on armed robbers over the weekend.
One of the teen robbery suspects was shot and killed during the shootout that happened early Saturday morning at Sonny's BBQ Cafe, according to deputies. (Full Story)
"You have an unfettered right to defend yourself," Trey Gowdy told News 4. "If you reasonably believe you are in danger of losing your life, you may use force up to and including deadly force," said Gowdy.
When asked if the law applied even if the suspects were fleeing, Gowdy said, "How did the employees know they weren't going outside to get a bigger gun? If you are in fear of your life, you can use deadly force."
The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office said that Michael Shaquille Davidson, 16, was one of three teenagers shot after robbing Sonny's Restaurant early Saturday morning. Investigators say the three teens were about to leave when two employees opened fire.
"I just want to see justice for my cousin. He was shot down like a dog," said Alex Davidson.
"From what I'm getting, they was running. They was leaving the store; running out of the store," said the teen's uncle and namesake, Michael Davidson. "So I mean, if they was running out of the store, why would you shoot them in the back?"
In an interview that aired Sunday on WYFF News, several family members said they had heard that Davidson and the other two teens had been shot in the back.
Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler would not comment on whether Davidson was shot in the back or front after an autopsy Sunday, but he did confirm that the teen died of gunshot wounds.
The sheriff's office said Sunday morning that they were still going over evidence and waiting for results of a ballistics test to determine exactly what happened inside the restaurant.
Lloyd Ryan Jefferies, 18, is in the Cherokee County Detention Center charged with armed robbery, Gowdy confirmed.
Calvin Smith Jr., 16, will be charged with the same crime when he's released from the hospital, deputies said.
