Troy Police Department reveals information about Oct. 29 shooting
Pictured: Thompson (left), Washington (middle) and Walker (right).
Troy Police Department announced over the weekend that officers arrested three individuals in connection with the Oct. 29 shooting at the Edge apartments in Troy, Alabama, that left Troy student Carlique Miller dead.
All three individuals arrested are Troy University students.
Dejuane Lamar Washington, 20, of Gadsen, Alabama, and Keifer Jayden Walker, 18, of Montgomery, Alabama, are both charged with murder.
Parker Hughes Thompson, 18, of Wetumpka, Alabama, is charged with unlawful possession of and conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
In a Monday afternoon press conference, 12th Judicial Court District Attorney James Tarbox described the shooting as a drug deal gone bad.
"It is alleged that the two individuals that have been charged with murder were involved in a robbery," Tarbox said.
Despite three arrests, only two suspects face murder charges. Tarbox cites the decision to not charge Thompson with murder to Alabama Code 13A-6-2(a)(3)). That code outlines felony murder, and how murder charges can be applied to a person who causes the death of a person while committing or attempting to commit another felony.
Those felonies include first or second degree burglary, first-degree robbery and more. Tarbox described Thompson as the victim of a robbery.
"When we look at the conduct that is alleged to have occurred, that leads to the charges of felony murder against Mr. Washington and Mr. Walker for the death of Mr. Miller," Tarbox said. "The facts and evidence do not point to Mr. Thompson as it relates to being a participant in that inherently dangerous to human life crime."
Troy Police Chief Danny Barron asked the people of Troy to trust his department and let it do its job.
"It's always my prayer that we get these things right and we feel like we have gotten this right," Barron said.
Troy University said in a statement all three arrested students have been suspended from the university and barred from campus.
This comes after initial news broke Thursday of a Troy University student who was shot t at an apartment complex just outside of campus.
Police responded to a report of someone being shot around 10:41 p.m. on the 600 Block of Elm Street. When they arrived, officials found an unresponsive man with a gunshot wound. Officers immediately performed CPR to no success.
The victim was identified Friday morning as Carlique Miller, a 21-year-old freshman business entrepreneurship major from Dothan, Alabama.
Matt Clower, Senior Director of Communications at Troy University, mentioned in a statement that there is no active threat to campus safety.
“The University community is deeply saddened by the loss of one of our students,” Clower said. “We extend our heartfelt condolences to the student's family and friends as they grieve.”
According to eyewitness Sydney Parker, a sophomore dance major from Hayden, Alabama, she heard a loud bang and some yelling but went back inside before Police arrived on the scene.
“We saw two males get out and run towards our right, from our balcony, and they were screaming ‘My homeboy just got shot,’ and we went back inside because the cops weren't there yet,” Parker said. “When we saw the cops get there, we went outside.”
This is an active investigation, and The Tropolitan will give updates as the case continues. If anyone has any information, they are urged to contact Troy Police via telephone (334-566-0500) or email (mailto:police@troyal.gov) as well as Crime Stoppers (215-7867).
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