North Carolina authorities are considering hate crime charges after a black man was shot dead during a road rage encounter with a white man and his son.
Motorcyclist Stephen Addison, 32, was allegedly killed by truck driver Roger Dale Nobles, 51, in a Fayetteville confrontation Monday, according to WRAL.
Roger Dale Nobles Jr, the suspect’s son, got out of his father’s truck to argue with Addison at a stoplight, before his father pulled a shotgun and fired it at the victim, according to footage of the incident obtained by the station.
Nobles Sr admitted to gunning down the father of three, and was charged with first-degree murder, the outlet reported. Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West said he was reviewing the evidence and considering additional charges, including possible hate crime counts, in connection with the broad daylight ambush.
“If the evidence warrants that type of charge, it’s certainly something we would look at and pursue,” West reportedly said.
A neighbor of the suspect told the station that Nobles had a history of aggressive behavior and had used racial slurs against her.
“He done drove in my yard and took pictures of me on my porch. He’s shot his gun in the air telling me to turn my music down. I done been through hell with this man,” Shahara Chance reportedly said.
The younger Nobles was not charged with a crime, but security experts told the outlet that it looked like he anticipated the murder and played a role in it.
“Where he’s actually standing in reference to, what we call in the military, a fatal funnel,” Anthony Waddy, an analyst with SAV Consulting, told the station. “He’s clearly out of harm’s way.”
After the fatal shot was fired, Nobles Jr didn’t flinch or appear surprised, and didn’t try to help Addison, who was reportedly left to die in the street.
A defense lawyer speculated that there was not enough evidence to charge his son with a crime, unless it came to light that he had agreed to help his father murder the victim.
“You don’t have an obligation to report a criminal activity, even if you know the person who committed it,” Daniel Meier told the station. “You can watch a crime occur right in front of you, and you don’t have to call the police.”
It was unclear what let to the fatal encounter, and the admitted killer did not reveal a motive, according to the report.