Deliveryman in Gates Four shooting surrenders

Gerald Hilton Lord, 48, of the 6800 block of Cinnamon Creek Circle, was delivering a carry-out order when he pulled into the wrong driveway on the 6800 block of Towbridge Road on March 10. Words were exchanged between Lord and Thomas Earl Jacobs, who lived at the home, before the deliveryman drove away.

The shouting match may have included some racial slurs, said Ronnie Mitchell, attorney for the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office. Lord is black; Jacobs is white.

Lord later returned to the residence and the men scuffled in the front yard. Lord pulled out a gun during the scuffle, Mitchell said, and the weapon fired after Jacobs body-slammed him.

Lord was shot in the arm. Jacobs was grazed in the neck.

Deputies were originally scrutinized for not filing charges in the incident. Mitchell said last week that no charges were filed because the gun went off accidentally and the injuries were not serious.

"In this circumstance, the only serious injury that appears to have occurred is to the perpetrator and not to the victim," he said. "That, of course, created some degree of confusion about what charges may be brought."

Lord is now charged with assault with a deadly weapon, trespassing and assault by pointing a gun.