In October of 2017, a 15-year-old male named Chadarion Skipp Spurlock, a ninth-grade student at Zachary High School, lost his life in a tragic shooting in Zachary, Louisiana. The incident unfolded on a Saturday afternoon when a homeowner, Terry Flanagan, received a tip that his house was being burglarized. Upon returning to his residence on Willow Creek Drive, Flanagan confronted Spurlock and two other teenagers.
According to police reports, Flanagan told authorities he discovered the
three teenagers in the act of burglarizing his home. As Spurlock attempted to flee through a window, Flanagan pursued him and shot him. It was further reported that after the initial shot, Flanagan walked up to Spurlock, who was then lying on the ground, and shot him again. Following the shooting, Flanagan moved the young man's body from his yard to a neighboring property.
Authorities arrested Terry Flanagan, who was 63 years old at the time, and charged him with second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The police chief stated that they did not believe Flanagan's life was in danger and that he should have contacted the police instead of taking matters into his own hands. Flanagan had an extensive criminal history and had been released from prison on a life sentence as a habitual offender just over a year before the fatal shooting.
The investigation into the shooting also led to the arrests of two other individuals, an 18-year-old and a 19-year-old, in connection with a series of burglaries in the area. In March of 2022, Terry Flanagan rejected a plea deal from prosecutors that would have resulted in a lighter sentence, opting instead to proceed to trial on the second-degree murder charge.
