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Suspect in PlayStation Robbery Case Had Gun, Ski Mask in Car
A suspect in a robbery last month that led to the shooting death of a Durham teen by New Hanover County deputies had a loaded shotgun and a ski mask in his car, police said Monday.
Posted — UpdatedWILMINGTON, N.C. — A second suspect in a robbery last month that led to the shooting death of a Durham teen by New Hanover County deputies had a loaded shotgun and a ski mask in his car, police said Monday.
Peyton Strickland, 18, a Cape Fear Community College student, was shot to death at his Wilmington home Dec. 1 by deputies serving arrest and search warrants. Strickland and two friends were charged with assaulting a University of North Carolina at Wilmington student last month and stealing two PlayStation 3 consoles from him.
A second suspect in the case, Ryan David Mills, 20, of Durham, had a loaded shotgun and a ski mask in his car before his arrest, UNC-W Police Chief David Donaldson told WRAL. Investigators also found pictures of Mills on the Internet posing with guns.
UNC-W police asked for support from the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office during the arrests of the suspects in the case because of the potential that the suspects were armed and dangerous, authorities said. Strickland had an earlier arrest on a felony assault charge.
Nine heavily armed deputies accompanied UNC-W police to Strickland's home to serve the warrants. Three deputies fired shots into the home, and sources close to the case believe several shots were fired before Strickland opened the door.
Strickland, who was unarmed, died of a gunshot wound to the head.
Cpl. Christopher Long, 34, was fired Friday, and detective Larry Robinson, 34, and Sgt. Greg Johnson, 39, have been placed on administrative leave pending the results of investigations by the State Bureau of Investigation and the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office.
New Hanover County Sheriff Sid Causey and District Attorney Ben David were expected to hold a news conference Monday to discuss the case.
Mills and Braden Delaney Riley, 21, of Apex, have been charged with armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and breaking and entering a motor vehicle, according to warrants. Both were arrested after the Dec. 1 raid on Strickland's house.
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