Police say that a 15 year old boy was formally charged in the brutal murder of a college baseball player killed when responding to an ad on a Craigslist style ad.
Police also say that future arrests are expected if other possible suspects who may have helped participate in the grim murder.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department announced they are creating several “safe exchange areas” where Charlotte residents can now handle sales made via internet apps. Those sites will be announced as early as next week, CMPD spokesman Rob Tufano said..
The teenage killer, whose name was not released due to his age, is now charged with the murder of Zachary Joseph Finch, then 21 year older pitcher for Kentucky’s University of the Cumberland Baseball team.
Finch was on a full scholarship with the program, family members have said, and had received praise from both classmates and former coaches as well as teachers for his work ethic and dedication to the sport.
Finch responded to a Craigslist style ad to purchase a used cell phone when he was fatally shot upon his arrival at the agreed upon meeting location, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Captain Chris Dozier said.
The meeting to sell the phone was set up through a digital application called ‘Letgo’, which is incredibly similar to the Craigslist style of online marketplaces. Police said Finch did not know the killers he was meeting for the purchase prior to the agreement of sale.
“As far as what the victim did, there doesn’t appear to be any type of defense or fighting that led to the shooting,” Dozier said. “The motive here seemed to be robbery, but to have this happen and have such a disregard, for such a young person to commit this kind of crime is disturbing.”
The teenage killer was arrested Thursday. Dozier said police have “one or two” other potential suspects who were at the scene. Dozier however refused to say whether or not police believe the suspects are part of a gang or a group of thugs who routinely are responsible for team-effort crimes.
Police also refused to acknowledge what led them to the suspects, but Dozier said ‘Letgo’ assisted police with information. “That helps tremendously when we have that type of cooperation,” he said.
Finch was murdered at around 1:30 PM June 18th, in the 2300 block of Farmer Street in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Source:
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article162891898.html
