GASTONIA, N.C. — Gastonia police are investigating a fatal shooting that took place Thursday morning at the Kedplasma
Center on New Hope Road.
[MORE: Man shot to death in shopping center parking lot]
Adrian Martel Curry, 28, was charged with first-degree murder Thursday afternoon.
(Adrian Martel Curry)
On Friday, Adrian Curry’s nephew, Jurmarian Curry, was charged with first-degree murder.
(Jurmarian Curry)
One witness told reporter Ken Lemon that he was very close to the scene of the murder.
"It’s kind of scary when you are close enough to smell the gunpowder," witness Ronnie Suggs said.
The witness also said Adrian Curry and the victim, Demetrius Terrell Wheeling, 39, of Clover, got into an argument in the parking lot prior to the shooting.
The witness said he heard the shooter yell, "I got something for you."
The witness said that was when the shot rang out, and the shooter and another man ran.
Eric Chisholm said the shot hit the victim in the neck.
"This is crazy. We got to stop that," Chisholm said.
Police searched for the suspect next to the Special Care For Special Kids Preschool, where people were arriving for a preschool graduation.
Officers with automatic rifles escorted family members in to see their children graduate.
Later in the week, Wheeling’s family members said he was trying to help Adrian Curry.
The victim's mother said that she helped convince Adrian Curry to surrender.
She said Adrian Curry considered her a mother figure.
They talked twice a week and after the fatal shooting, she called and left a message telling Adrian Curry he should surrender.
She said she cares about Adrian Curry, despite the fact that she believes he killed her son. A couple of hours after she left that message, Adrian Curry turned himself in.
Friends and family of Wheeling said he would be disappointed to see Adrian Curry charged with his murder.
They said Wheeling had tried to rescue Adrian Curry.
Wheeling was once homeless and entered a program to get back on his feet.
He decided to help other homeless men.
"He didn't want nobody else to go through that life," friend Quincy Pritchett said.
Wheeling mentored Pritchett, one of the homeless men he often invited to stay with him in Clover.
"He motivated me to get a job and do better about myself," Pritchett said.
Wheeling's brother, Carl Wheeling, said Adrian Curry visited often and became a close friend of the family.
"He put food in his stomach and give him some of that wisdom," Carl Wheeling said.
Family members said the two friends had an argument over a pair of hair clippers that Wheeling believed Adrian Curry stole, and that Adrian Curry had recently threatened to hurt his mentor.
"I wish I could have helped him help Adrian out more," Carl Wheeler said.
Adrian Curry didn't talk about the shooting in court but told the judge he would hire his own attorney.
Prosecutors said they will take the case to the grand jury Monday or the following week.
Cox Media Group
