TEEN SHOT AND KILLED IN ALLEGED HOME INVASION

By Ray King/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

A Pine Bluff teenager was shot to death Thursday night after he reportedly kicked in the back door of a house in the Dollarway area and was confronted by the homeowner who had a handgun.

Chief Deputy Coroner Chad Kelley said Winston Walls Jr., 14, was pronounced dead at Jefferson Regional Medical Center at 11:57 p.m. of a gunshot wound to the abdomen. The body was sent to the state Medical Examiner’s Office at Little Rock for an autopsy.

Police spokesman Sgt. Greg Holland said officers were called to the area of Malcomb and School streets at approximately 8:25 p.m. in response to a shooting and when they arrived, found Walls with a gunshot wound.

Holland said Walls was armed with a handgun when he kicked in the door of the house, and was confronted by the home owner, Jimmy Shaw, who also had a gun.

Shaw reportedly fired at Walls, striking him in the abdomen, and Holland said investigators located a weapon allegedly carried by Walls inside the house, as well as evidence that the gun had been fired in the residence.

Holland said investigators also learned that two additional juveniles, a 17-year-old male and a 16-year-old male, were involved in the attempted burglary that resulted in the death.

He said witnesses told investigators that they heard gunshots coming from the house and saw one suspect run from the area. Authorities believe the other suspect was nearby being used as a lookout and also ran from the scene after hearing the shots.

The two juveniles were taken into custody while Shaw was questioned and released pending further investigation by detectives, Holland said.

The death was the 23rd homicide reported in Jefferson County this year and the 14th inside the Pine Bluff city limits. It was also the second in eight days involving a juvenile who was reportedly attempting to commit a burglary.

On Aug. 16, Taron Hopkins, 15, was shot by the owner of Chuck Smith Pawn Shop in the 3600 block of West 6th Avenue after Hopkins and several other juveniles reportedly attempted to burglarize the business.

Kelley pronounced Hopkins dead at the scene of a gunshot wound to the upper body.

The investigative file on that case has been forwarded to the prosecuting attorney, who will make a decision on whether the shooting was justified or if charges are warranted. That decision is expected next week.