Riverdale, Georgia

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution of February 21, 2007

16-year-old kills home intruder

Police say teen ID'd masked, unarmed man as high school acquaintance

Clayton County police said a 16-year-old boy was "in fear for his life" Tuesday morning when he shot and killed a masked, unarmed intruder who broke into his Riverdale home.

Interim Chief Jeff Turner said the alleged shooter, identified by neighbors as Wes Stephens, has not been charged in the shooting on Camp Road, off Flat Shoals Road near the Fulton County line.

Stephens told police he heard a window break about 11:30 a.m. in the garage of the house he shares with his parents.

"He got his father's pistol, a semiautomatic, and fired multiple times," Turner said. "The intruder went to some lengths to disguise himself, wearing black clothes and a black bandanna across his face."

After shooting the intruder in the garage, Stephens recognized the man as Marques Karun McGhee, 19, of Riverdale, a former North Clayton High School acquaintance, Turner said.

Wes Stephens' father, Wesley Howard Stephens, had withdrawn his son from North Clayton High School because of danger caused by gangs, Turner said.

Turner said police are looking for a second person who may have dropped McGhee off on Camp Road, a mostly black neighborhood of modest ranch homes on 1- and 2-acre lots, and then fled when shots were fired.

Obscene graffiti with racial overtones directed toward "Wes" is sprayed in white paint on the road in front of the Stephens home and along Camp Road. Stephens is white, McGhee black.

Neighbors Dan and Linda Harris said the graffiti showed up about 45 days ago.

"I don't know if it's gangs, a black and white thing or just stupidity," Dan Harris said. "I know we've known Wes since he was a little boy, he used to swim in our pool and we've never had any trouble out of him."

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution of February 21, 2007

Intruder, shooter had past ties

A 16-year-old Riverdale boy and the home intruder he shot and killed were arrested together about a year ago in a stolen car, Clayton County police Maj. Tim Robinson said Wednesday.

Police arrested Wes Stephens, a second juvenile and Marques Karun McGhee, 19, of Riverdale last March, Robinson said. McGhee's case was pending in Clayton Superior Court when he was shot. Robinson said he could not find a disposition in Stephens' case, which would have been prosecuted in Juvenile Court.

Robinson said Wednesday that Stephens probably will not be charged in the shooting. Shootings deemed by police to be self-defense usually are presented to a grand jury for a final resolution, Robinson said.

Stephens fired a semi-automatic pistol 14 times at McGhee on Tuesday morning, hitting him eight times, Robinson said.

McGhee was wearing black clothing and a black bandana over his face when he threw a rock through a garage window of the Stephens home on Camp Road in Riverdale, police said. McGhee climbed through the window and was shot by Stephens, who was armed with his father's pistol, police said.

Stephens told police he didn't know the intruder's identity until he was dead. McGhee and Stephens attended North Clayton High School together until Stephens' father withdrew his son from school because of a fear of gangs. Stephens was home alone when the shooting occurred.

Robinson said Wednesday that McGhee was a member of a local gang, the Hit Squad, but said there's no evidence Stephens was a gang member.