RICHMOND, Va. –On Thursday a jury found Dominique Tylvann Clark guilty of involuntary manslaughter of 16-year-old Robert Lee Fox.
The jury recommended no time in prison, and that Clark pay a $2,500 fine.
Clark was originally charged with voluntary manslaughter after the Hanover teenager died from a single gunshot wound, in February 2014.
Fox was found lying in an alley in the 3600 block of McRand Street.
Police sources told CBS 6 reporter Mark Holmberg that the 911 calls from the residence that night report a break-in in the alley. Some South Richmond residents also said a string of vehicle break-ins took place around the same time the 16-year-old was fatally shot in an alley.
The station’s request for the 911 calls from that night was refused because those recordings are part of the police investigation. Tonight CBS 6 acquired those tapes.
In March Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Mike Herring declined to release specific details of the incident.
“I don’t think the facts are going to be much in dispute,” he said. “I think the issue if going to be whether the reaction to the facts as they presented themselves is appropriate or not.”
In Virginia, Herring said, citizens can legally use deadly force to protect themselves, but not their property.
Herring said he does expect “the witness accounts of the incident to vary depending on whether they were witnesses who were with the victim or witnesses who were with the property owner.”
He believes the investigation will be thorough and hopes that grand jury weighs that evidence with great and careful deliberation.
Herring’s history indicates a low tolerance for citizens opening fire in defense of property.
For example, four years ago, Virginia Union student Eric Driver faced 2nd degree murder charges after he shot and killed a masked man who had broken into his girlfriend’s car and yelled threateningly at her when she caught him in the act. Driver was convicted of manslaughter and served no time.
“As a prosecutor,” Herring said, “I don’t want people using deadly force to protect property. I don’t want people using deadly force to apprehend those who are fleeing the scene.”
In fact, he said, he wants citizens to retreat to safety whenever they can and to call police instead of trying to deal with dangerous situations themselves.
“Rarely does anything good come of that,” Herring said.
Stay with WTVR.com and CBS 6 News for the latest updates on this developing story.
