A Little Rock 16-year-old told police he fatally shot his mother Saturday morning because she physically and mentally abused him, court documents said.
Kaelon Presley, who was arrested on a charge of first-degree murder Saturday hours after Shondra Miller was found shot dead on her living room floor, told police initially that someone ran into his house and shot his mom, according to a probable cause letter. He later said he shot her.
Presley was in the Pulaski County jail in lieu of a $1 million bond Tuesday evening, according to online court records.
Little Rock police responded at 8:25 a.m. to a report of a deceased person at 5416 Brush Creek Ave., where officers found Miller, who had been shot in her head, according to a police report. The department learned about the homicide first from Sgt. Willie Davis, who said one of the students he mentors called him and said his mother had been shot, the affidavit said.
Davis heads up Little Rock's O.K. Program, the local branch of a national guidance program for African American boys ages 12 to 18. Presley is a junior at Parkview Magnet High School, where he was a point guard on the basketball team, according to a team roster.
"At 0825 hours, Sergeant Willie Davis called 911 and advised he was on the phone with a student he mentors, and there had been at homicide at the student's location," the probable cause letter said. "Sgt. Davis advised the student was inside the residence with the victim who had been shot."
A second person, Miller's live-in girlfriend, called 911 at 8:27 a.m and told police that her girlfriend's son had called about someone shooting Miller.
Presley was at the residence when officers arrived, the letter said.
Presley told investigators he took their dog outside and that the dog had run away, the letter said. While he was chasing the dog, Presley said someone walked into the house and shot his mother. Investigators escorted Presley to the 12th Street Station for interviews.
At approximately 11 a.m., officers got a search warrant for the white, one-story house, Officer Eric Barnes said Saturday. By that time, neighbors were crowded on street corners and family members were standing by their cars waiting to hear what had happened. The family members declined to speak with reporters Saturday.
A doorbell equipped with a camera was by the front door to the home, between a welcome sign and Christmas decorations. Motion detector lights were above the open garage, in front of which a blue Nissan Altima was parked. Several neighbors had security cameras posted on corners and near doorways.
Investigators said in the letter that video surveillance did not match Presley's story.
Officers interviewed Miller's girlfriend, who said she called Miller around 7 a.m. after leaving for work at 6:40 a.m. When Miller didn't answer, the woman said she called Presley, who told her someone had shot Miller while he was out with the dog.
"[The woman] advised she thought it was a prank, and then Kaelon sent her a photo of his deceased mother, Shondra Miller," the letter said.
The woman asked Presley why he didn't call 911, and he said it was because he was driving his mother's car and didn't want to get in trouble.
Investigators interviewed Presley around 1:40 p.m., the letter said.
"Kaelon advised he had been given a handgun to hold for a friend," the affidavit said. "Kaelon advised this morning his mother said something to him that made him angry, so he got the gun and shot her as she sat on the couch playing on her phone."
Presley told the investigators he had been "physically and mentally abused by his mother and had been having violent thoughts leading up to the shooting," the letter said.
Police have been called to Brush Creek Avenue eight times in the past three years, but never to Miller's house before Saturday.
A security camera showed Presley briefly opening the door at 7:03 a.m., the affidavit said. Presley said he was throwing shell casings in the backyard.
After shooting his mother, Presley said he got into her car and went to a friend's house to drop off the gun, the letter said. Then he went to a gas station, and then back home, where he met police officers.
"Kaelon advised he never called 911 about his mother being shot," the affidavit said.
Investigators found a post on Presley's social media that said, "rip mom I love you" and "im so sorry", the affidavit said.
Information for this article was contribued by Nyssa Kruse.
Metro on 12/18/2019