FAYETTEVILLE -- Police say a disagreement over a gun ended in a shooting that left one man dead and another jailed in connection with first-degree murder and other charges.
Aveyun Smith, 22, was shot and killed in the parking lot of 920 N. Leverett Ave. on the night of Aug. 15. He was taken from that location by another man to Washington Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, according to a preliminary report from the Police Department.
Dominic Heal, 20, of 1248 Willow Oak St. in Elkins, was arrested Oct. 2 and booked into the Washington County Detention Center in connection with breaking or entering and theft of property. After investigators identified him as a suspect in the Aug. 15 shooting and interviewed him he was arrested in connection with first-degree murder. Heal was being held Tuesday in the Washington County Detention Center with no bond set.
Police say their investigation found two witnesses to the shooting and surveillance video from several residences in the area. Both witnesses told investigators they were in the parking lot with Smith and saw a white minivan enter the lot just before the shooting.
The witnesses said they saw a green laser light from inside the van and placed on Smith. Within a few seconds, the witnesses said, several shots were fired from the minivan, which then drove north on North Leverett Avenue at a high rate of speed. Both witnesses said they had previously seen Heal with a pistol with a green laser light attachment prior to the shooting.
The witnesses also said Heal had been driving a white minivan in the days before the shooting and Heal attempted to burn the minivan about a month after the shooting.
Police said in the preliminary report Heal said he had been engaged in a "feud" with Smith stemming from Smith having taken a firearm and cash from Heal and a friend. Heal told police he found Smith outside the apartments at 920 N. Leverett Ave. and while he was driving near Smith, Heal said, he saw Smith with a pistol and believed he fired shots toward him. Heal told police he fired his gun, a pistol with a green laser light, toward Smith.
Officers found a large amount of blood on a sidewalk and in the parking lot of the apartment complex. A firearm was found in a grassy area west of the parking lot. Several 9mm shell casing were found in the road just west of the apartments and a 9mm bullet was found from the parking lot area. Police say they also found blood in one of the apartments.
Heal was first arrested in connection with the Aug. 12 report of the theft of a white minivan from a residence at 2257 N. Mockingbird Lane. Video surveillance from homes in the area showed two men walking through the neighborhood checking the door handles of a number of vehicles. In one video, the white minivan is seen traveling south on North Mockingbird Lane, followed closely by another vehicle. Based on the video, investigators identified one of the men as Heal.