Robert Shorter Jr., a 30-year-old African American male, tragically lost his life on March 13, 2021, in Wilmington, North Carolina. The incident occurred in the early hours of the morning when Wilmington police officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert near the 800 block of Walnut Street. Upon arrival, they discovered Robert Shorter Jr. suffering from a gunshot wound.
Despite the efforts of emergency medical services, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation revealed that Michael Nelma, a 63-year-old neighbor, was responsible for the shooting. Nelma allegedly admitted to the crime and was subsequently arrested by law enforcement. He was charged with second-degree murder, and his bond was pending at the time of the arrest. Nelma did not have a prior criminal history with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Further details emerged during the investigation, shedding light on the events leading up to the shooting. Nelma had returned home from a friend's house around 12:30 a.m. and heard an argument between Robert Shorter Jr. and an unidentified man in his backyard. Shorter was found with a knife and a brick in each hand and had set some of Nelma's belongings on fire. As Shorter exited Nelma's property, he made verbal threats. Nelma, feeling threatened, retrieved a firearm from his home and shot Shorter, who was walking on the sidewalk approximately 50 yards away. Nelma immediately called the police after the shooting.
In February 2022, Michael Nelma pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in New Hanover Superior Court. He was sentenced to 64 to 89 months in prison for his crime against Robert Shorter Jr. Nelma expressed remorse for his actions, stating that he committed the crime out of self-defense. Shorter's mother, during the plea, forgave Nelma but expressed her grief over losing her third child. If Nelma abides by the rules of supervised release, he has the chance to reduce his sentence to a minimum of 38 months.
