In the winter of 2020, a young life was tragically cut short in Lithonia, Georgia. Ricarrio Hale, a 14-year-old freshman at Miller Grove High School, was fatally shot on a Sunday afternoon in January at the Aladdin Townhomes. His death was the result of a confrontation that began over the online sale of an iPhone 6.
Initial reports from DeKalb County police suggested that Hale and a 16-year-old friend, Myzell Neal, were attempting to rob the sellers when the shooting occurred. According to this version of events, the teenagers had arranged to meet two adults to purchase the phone, but instead snatched the device and fled. The sellers then pursued them and opened fire, striking Hale in the chest and his friend in the arm. Hale died at the scene.
However, this narrative was quickly challenged by witnesses and Hale's family, who maintained his innocence. They asserted that Hale was unaware of any plan to steal the phone and had simply accompanied his friends to what he believed was a legitimate purchase. Witnesses stated that when one of the teens grabbed the phone and ran, one of the sellers brandished a gun, causing all the teenagers to flee. The seller then allegedly began shooting at the fleeing teens, hitting Hale. A family spokesperson emphasized that Hale was not even near the car when the theft occurred and was tragically struck by the gunfire.
In the wake of the conflicting accounts, the DeKalb County police investigation continued. The man who shot Ricarrio Hale was identified as Paul Marsilas Wilson. He was arrested and subsequently charged with felony murder and aggravated assault. Myzell Neal, the teenager who allegedly took the phone, was charged with misdemeanor theft. The woman who was with Wilson at the time of the incident was taken into custody but was not charged. The family of Ricarrio Hale, who remembered him as a good kid who loved sports and was one of eleven siblings, was left to mourn the loss of a son they say was wrongly portrayed as a criminal.
