Suspect arrested in Jan. 4 shooting

Teen tied to drug deal that became robbery, LR police say

Little Rock police arrested a man Tuesday in a January shooting that investigators say was a drug deal that turned into a robbery.

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Tevin Mills, 19, was charged with aggravated robbery and first-degree battery. He's accused of shooting Tommy Casey, 41, early in the morning of Jan. 4.

Police found an injured Casey about 2:15 a.m. lying on the ground near South Harrison and West 19th streets. Casey's sport utility vehicle had hit a utility pole, officers reported. A friend, Corey Meridy, 46, was with him when officers arrived.

Meridy told investigators that Casey and he had given a ride to a man who then tried to rob them at gunpoint, according to a police incident report. At the time, additional details about the shooting were unclear. Meridy and Casey could not provide a specific location for the attack nor a detailed description of the gunman, police said.

Five days later, after being treated at CHI St. Vincent Infirmary in Little Rock, Casey told police that he and Meridy had picked up a man to buy crack cocaine and that the man pulled a gun, according to a court affidavit. Meridy jumped from the vehicle and ran, while Casey and the robber struggled for the weapon until Casey was shot. Casey then crashed the SUV into the utility pole.

Relatives of Casey later identified the gunman as Mills, the affidavit states. One of them had been dating Mills, also known as "TJ," and said he'd admitted to the shooting.

Casey then identified Mills in a police photo lineup, according to the affidavit.

Police arrested Mills about 3 p.m. Tuesday at 1208 Bowman Road. He had also been wanted on charges of failure to appear in court in Little Rock, Sherwood and Pulaski County.

Mills is no stranger to gunfire, according to police reports. On Jan. 30, before he had been identified as a suspect in Casey's shooting, Mills was shot three times at an apartment complex at 1100 Fair Park Blvd. Police arrested a suspect in that case, but court records Wednesday showed no related charges against the man.

Nine months before then, Mills was shot at West 14th and Elm streets. He told police that Marquies Humphrey, 16, had shot him while trying to steal his wallet and cellphone. Humphrey was charged as an adult with first-degree battery and aggravated robbery.

Mills and Humphrey were being held at the Pulaski County jail Wednesday. District Judge Alice Lightle set Mills' bail at $500,000.

Metro on 03/26/2015

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