By Martha Kang May 25, 2011
AUBURN, Wash. -- A breakup between two adults fueled tension between the families that led to the shooting death of a 16-year-old boy earlier this month, according to police.
Prosecutors have charged 16-year-old James A. Mills with second-degree murder in the May 22 death of Adrian Wilson. KOMO News typically does not name minor defendants, but has made an exception in this case as Mills has been charged as an adult.
Police said the fatal victim had been attending a barbecue in the common area of the Aspen Meadows Apartments when trouble began. The suspected gunman had arrived at the complex with another resident, and began exchanging words with Wilson.
Tensions mounted until Mills pulled out his weapon and opened fire, hitting Wilson, according to the statement of probable cause. Mills' companion said he ran into his apartment, and when he looked out his window, he saw Wilson lying on the ground. Mills' companion said someone then opened fire at his apartment unit, narrowly missing his mother, who was inside.
Police arrested Mills at his mother's apartment in Kent on Tuesday. The suspect was disguised as "a thin black female wearing sunglasses," investigators said, but when the woman "took off her purse, sunglasses, and wig," officers recognized the person as Mills and placed him under arrest.
When questioned by detectives, Mills said he had brought a gun to the Auburn apartment complex "to protect his girlfriend's mother" who was reportedly having trouble with Wilson's father.
Investigators learned the victim's father had been dating the woman, but had recently broke up. Wilson's father, Gabriel Wilson, had reportedly been threatening the woman, who was in the process of trying to obtain a protective order against him, the document said.
Mills claimed the fatal victim was "a bully", and said he believed the group was having a barbecue right outside the woman's apartment unit to taunt her. At one point, Wilson came over and began calling him names, Mills said, prompting him to open fire.
When asked why he didn't just leave to avoid trouble, Mills said, "I'm not gonna run away from my problems. I'm not gettin' punked, not gonna intimidate me. I'm gonna stay right there and do what I planned to do," the statement said.
Investigators said Mills is a documented member of Marvin Gangster Crips, and Wilson's father is a known member of the Nortenos, a Northern California-based criminal street gang. There is no known rivalry between the two gangs; however, the two gangs are often known to clash, detectives said.
When officers arrived at the scene of the shooting, they saw the fatal victim's father rushing toward another person. When an officer attempted to stop him, the man slammed the officer to the ground. Other officers jumped in and subdued Wilson and placed him under arrest.
The victims' father, Gabriel Wilson, told detectives it was he who opened fire at the unit of the suspected gunman's friend. "They killed my (expletive) son! What do you expect," he told investigators.
The 45-year-old father has been charged with first-degree assault and unlawful possession of a firearm in the first degree. He has prior convictions for violation of the Uniform Controlled Substance Act and cocaine delivery.
Mills is being held on $1,000,000 bail, and scheduled to be arraigned next month.
Gabriel Wilson is being on $750,000 bail.
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