Death penalty sought in Durham tire store shooting

Durham County prosecutors said Wednesday that they plan to seek the death penalty against a man charged in a fatal March shooting at a local tire store.

O'Brian McNeil White, 24, of Durham, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, three counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of robbery with a dangerous weapon. He is being held without bond in the Durham County jail.

A gunman opened fire inside J.T. Tire, at 2202 E. Geer St., on March 23, killing store employee Naomi Wright, 65, and customer Abdelgadir Mergany Abdelganir, 32.

Store employee Terry Shaw, 51, and customer Javier Ramirez were critically wounded in the shooting.

Police have said that evidence at the shooting scene links White to the crime, but they have declined to be more specific.

Friends and relatives of White maintain that police have arrested the wrong man. They say officers picked White up simply because he has a tattoo on his face similar to one witnesses described on the gunman's face.

Army officials have listed White as a deserter, saying the private second-class went absent without leave from Fort Bragg in December 2009.