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Restaurant Manager Who Shot Alleged Robber Will Not Be Charged

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Sentell Thomas was shot to death after trying to rob a restaurant, police say.(WRAL-TV5 News)
FAYETTEVILLE — A Fayetteville restaurant manager will not be charged for shooting a robber to death. Not everyone agrees with the decision.

Police say Sentell Thomas, 20, robbed a Pizza Qwik restaurant March 2. When Thomas tried to escape, manager Fred Williams chased him with a shotgun. The manager shot and killed Thomas about 100 yards from the restaurant.

"When he shot him, he was off his property," said Annie Thomas, Sentell's stepmother. "If he was down, he wasn't a threat."

Williams' attorney, David Corey, says that under state law, his client did nothing wrong when he shot Thomas.

"I'm sure anybody involved would roll back the hands of time by that incident to prevent it from ever happening," Corey said.

He said his client is relieved when he heard the district attorney's decision. The Thomas family says that they may file a civil lawsuit.

No one at the district attorney's office was available for comment.

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