charlie sherrill
Member
Red is a black guy I have known for almost 40 years. He got his nickname because he had red hair, was light complected, and had freckles and green eyes. He's still around and pretty much fits the same description except his hair is now white and he's missing a leg. I'd guess his age at about 64. Other than killing three people Red has never been in any kind of trouble. I guess he was at the wrong place at the wrong time a couple of times and the wrong place at the right time another time.
Red has been a mechanic most of his life. He pretty much kept to himself except when someone brought a problem to him. The first time Red was charged with murder was about the time I started in law enforcement around 1969. His father was deceased and his mother was having a problem with a boyfriend. Mom called Red and told him the boyfriend was threatening her and asked him to come over. Red came over with a gun of some sort. I didn't work the case and don't know what the weapon was. The boyfriend showed up at Red's mother's house drunk with a knife and Red left him laying on the front porch in a pool of blood. He was initially charged with murder. It was reduced to manslaughter and was then "no billed" (he wasn't indicted by the grand jury) and Red was released and his gun returned to him a few days later.
Red had several sisters. One of them called him one night in the early 70's and said her babydaddy had called her from a bar and threatened her. I was involved in this case. Red went over to spend the night with the sister. About 4:00 a.m. the front door of the sister's house was kicked in as Red lay sleeping on the living room couch. He picked up the Revelation single shot .410 and shot and killed the babydaddy as he came through the front door with a RG .22 calibur revolver. Red had to go to jail again for a few hours until the district attorney looked at the reports and decided to not even take it to the grand jury. The .410 was returned to Red and he was released.
Red went back to his mechanic job . I would often see him around town and he always respectfully referred to me as "Mr. Charlie" as a lot of the people I deal with now do. Things went smoothly with Red until about 1976. I was driving my old Ford patrol car behind an old blue Cadillac down in a predominately black neighborhood. The Caddy was behind another car and as the other car pulled over the Caddy pulled over behind it. The driver of the other car got out and appeared to be cursing the driver of the Caddy. As the driver of the Caddy got out I saw that it was Red and then I saw the .410 shotgun I had seen a few years before. I called for assistance but before I could get out of the car Red had shot the guy in the chest with the .410. He died instantly. Red then began to strike him in the head with the butt of the shotgun. I made sure he hadn't reloaded as I ran up to him with my model .58 in hand. Red didn't even know I was there. I said "Red, what did this SOB do to you?" He replied "Mr. Charlie, this MF slapped my sister!" I replied, "that SOB, how about letting me hold that shotgun?" He handed me the shotgun and I threw it into the patrol car and locked the door. I could hear the backup sirens approaching as Red continued to hit the dead guy with his fists. I told Red to get up that the guy was dead and I needed to cuff him and put him in the car before the other LEO's got there. "I don't want you to get hurt." He was sitting in the back seat when the first backup got there.
Red didn't fare as well on this shooting. He was charged with murder and the charge was later reduced to manslaughter. He pled guilty and was sentenced to six years. He drove the inmate bus to jobs for four years and was then paroled. I guess word finally got around to not mess with Red as he hasn't been in trouble since. I saw him a few weeks ago and he's now in a wheelchair. He had a leg amputated because of some problems with diabetes. I carried on small talk with him for a few minutes and he still calls me Mr. Charlie.
The old .410 went into the evidence locker. I kept up with it. Several years later it went to a gun auction and I had a dealer buy it for me for $30.00. The extractor was broken and the trigger guard was missing. I fixed the extractor and replace the trigger guard. My son, who is now 25, and several other kids, including a stepdaughter, used the old .410 to learn to hunt. It sits on the gun rack in front of me waiting for my four and five year old granddaughters to get a little older.
Red has been a mechanic most of his life. He pretty much kept to himself except when someone brought a problem to him. The first time Red was charged with murder was about the time I started in law enforcement around 1969. His father was deceased and his mother was having a problem with a boyfriend. Mom called Red and told him the boyfriend was threatening her and asked him to come over. Red came over with a gun of some sort. I didn't work the case and don't know what the weapon was. The boyfriend showed up at Red's mother's house drunk with a knife and Red left him laying on the front porch in a pool of blood. He was initially charged with murder. It was reduced to manslaughter and was then "no billed" (he wasn't indicted by the grand jury) and Red was released and his gun returned to him a few days later.
Red had several sisters. One of them called him one night in the early 70's and said her babydaddy had called her from a bar and threatened her. I was involved in this case. Red went over to spend the night with the sister. About 4:00 a.m. the front door of the sister's house was kicked in as Red lay sleeping on the living room couch. He picked up the Revelation single shot .410 and shot and killed the babydaddy as he came through the front door with a RG .22 calibur revolver. Red had to go to jail again for a few hours until the district attorney looked at the reports and decided to not even take it to the grand jury. The .410 was returned to Red and he was released.
Red went back to his mechanic job . I would often see him around town and he always respectfully referred to me as "Mr. Charlie" as a lot of the people I deal with now do. Things went smoothly with Red until about 1976. I was driving my old Ford patrol car behind an old blue Cadillac down in a predominately black neighborhood. The Caddy was behind another car and as the other car pulled over the Caddy pulled over behind it. The driver of the other car got out and appeared to be cursing the driver of the Caddy. As the driver of the Caddy got out I saw that it was Red and then I saw the .410 shotgun I had seen a few years before. I called for assistance but before I could get out of the car Red had shot the guy in the chest with the .410. He died instantly. Red then began to strike him in the head with the butt of the shotgun. I made sure he hadn't reloaded as I ran up to him with my model .58 in hand. Red didn't even know I was there. I said "Red, what did this SOB do to you?" He replied "Mr. Charlie, this MF slapped my sister!" I replied, "that SOB, how about letting me hold that shotgun?" He handed me the shotgun and I threw it into the patrol car and locked the door. I could hear the backup sirens approaching as Red continued to hit the dead guy with his fists. I told Red to get up that the guy was dead and I needed to cuff him and put him in the car before the other LEO's got there. "I don't want you to get hurt." He was sitting in the back seat when the first backup got there.
Red didn't fare as well on this shooting. He was charged with murder and the charge was later reduced to manslaughter. He pled guilty and was sentenced to six years. He drove the inmate bus to jobs for four years and was then paroled. I guess word finally got around to not mess with Red as he hasn't been in trouble since. I saw him a few weeks ago and he's now in a wheelchair. He had a leg amputated because of some problems with diabetes. I carried on small talk with him for a few minutes and he still calls me Mr. Charlie.
The old .410 went into the evidence locker. I kept up with it. Several years later it went to a gun auction and I had a dealer buy it for me for $30.00. The extractor was broken and the trigger guard was missing. I fixed the extractor and replace the trigger guard. My son, who is now 25, and several other kids, including a stepdaughter, used the old .410 to learn to hunt. It sits on the gun rack in front of me waiting for my four and five year old granddaughters to get a little older.
- Jim
