News

Actions

Court documents: Portsmouth man shot by police had three guns

Posted at 1:03 PM, May 17, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-17 18:32:41-04

PORTSMOUTH, Va. - The man shot by police on Sunday night was in possession of a sawed off shotgun, a black handgun, and a camouflaged handgun, according to a search warrant filed in circuit court.

The search warrant contradicts statements family members made about Willie Marable owning a gun. "My son doesn't own a gun," Lorri Flythe told reporters on Monday. "He can't hold a gun. His hand is deformed."

The court documents say Erica Brown was arrested near the scene following an attempted armed robbery on Navajo Street that ended with an officer shooting an killing Marable. The two attempted to break into a home that night, police said. When officers arrived on scene, they confronted Marable, who they say didn't follow commands. An officer then shot and killed Marable.

The victim of the attempted armed robbery gave a description matching Brown's and said she was brandishing a black handgun. Even though she didn't have the gun at the time of her arrest, investigators requested a DNA sample to try and match her with that gun, the search warrant says. At the time, the search warrant says her accomplice, later identified as Marable, had the gun.

Marable's family members have maintained the sequence of events from police doesn't add up in their minds. Flythe said on Thursday she still doesn't understand why police had to kill her son.

State Police are handling the investigation. The officer involved in the shooting is on administrative leave.