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Drugs may have played role in shooting of Tabb High student, sheriff says

Johanna Somers, a member of The Virginian-Pilot newsroom staff, photographed October 2015. Steve Earley | The Virginian-Pilot
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There is industrial black tape on the inside of the bullet-riddled door where 17-year-old Dylan Peters was killed. Underneath a floral mat there are red-orange blood stains left from where he collapsed before being taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

“Dylan is not coming back,” Wayne Richardson said Thursday. Richardson shares the home on Cattail Lane in Tabb where the Tabb High School student was killed.

Peters went to the front door of his mother’s home Tuesday afternoon to speak with someone on the front porch. Richardson went over to the front door and saw him jump back and shut the front door. There was a struggle as the person outside the door tried to force his way in, Richardson said. Five shots were fired from a .40-caliber handgun. Peters was struck in the chest, shoulder, hand and leg, said Sheriff J.D. “Danny” Diggs. The shot to his chest was fatal, Diggs said.

Pictures: Fatal shooting of York teen

He is being held in the Merrimac Detention Center.

The York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday that deputies arrested a 17-year-old boy who lives in the Greenland subdivision in Tabb, a few miles from where Peters lived. The teenager is a Grafton High School student. The sheriff’s office charged him with second-degree murder, attempted robbery and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Diggs said Peters’ death seemed to be a robbery or a drug deal gone bad.

“I have to be honest in saying there is certainly a drug element involved in this whole situation, so what I am trying to say is this is not a random act of violence where the victim was chosen at random,” Diggs said. “The two were at least known to each other.”

The sheriff’s office did not release the suspect’s name on Thursday and in the evening Diggs said a search warrant obtained as part of the investigation was sealed. He said the warrant or the name might be unsealed in the future.

“I definitely want to know (the name),” said Zac White, 19, who graduated from Grafton High School and was friends with Peters. “I just feel like that is a whole nother level of closure for everyone.”

White said he has two brothers at Grafton High now who could have been in the building with the suspect on Wednesday before he was arrested.

Diamond Williams, 18, who lives on Cattail Lane, said it’s good that a suspect was arrested.

“Dylan lost his life so this guy definitely needs punishment,” she said.

Deputies spent much of Wednesday combing through the neighborhood where Peters lived. Investigators contacted the parents of the Grafton High student and they brought their son to the sheriff’s office between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. Wednesday, Diggs said.

“I would characterize him as being somewhat cooperative and we developed enough evidence to secure petitions (arrest warrants),” Diggs said.

Lt. Dennis Ivey of the sheriff’s department said investigators consulted with the commonwealth’s attorney before charging the Grafton High student with second-degree murder. The charge can be upgraded or downgraded, he said. The Grafton High student is being held at the Merrimac Juvenile Detention Center.

Richardson said Thursday that he is glad someone has been arrested but that he wanted a charge of first-degree murder, which has a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The maximum sentence for second-degree murder is 40 years.

Richardson said he doesn’t agree with the claim that Peters’ death was the result of a robbery.

“I think he tried to come in the house — I think he was forcing his way in the door,” he said.

Toni Nash, a neighbor, said the second-degree charge is “bogus.” “He knew what he was doing, he should get first-degree,” Nash said.

“I am glad they caught him this quickly, hopefully it’s the right guy,” said Olvin Ferguson, another neighbor.

The handgun used to kill Peters has not been recovered, Diggs said. Deputies are continuing their investigation and there could be others involved in at least the planning process, he said.

Ivey said one of their investigators, who is also a carpenter, would be installing a new door for Peters’ mom.

“We think it’s very, very traumatic for the mother to have to see these gunshot wounds through the door,” Ivey said.

A memorial service for Peters will be held at 2 p.m. Feb. 7 at North Riverside Baptist Church at 311 Selden Road in Newport News.

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the crime line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.

Somers can be reached at 757-298-5176.