Charles Keith Morgan Jr., a 26-year-old African American male, died on June 1, 2014, in Asheville, North Carolina. He was found unresponsive from a gunshot wound outside a Livingston Apartments building at 21 Palmer St. shortly after 3 a.m. Morgan was taken to Mission Hospital, where he later died. A 25-year-old woman was also shot and was being treated at Mission Hospital for injuries not thought to be life-threatening.
The crime scene is off Depot Street, near the southern end of South French Broad Avenue. Residents in nearby apartments said they didn't know what sparked the violence or who was responsible.
Morgan was no stranger to police. Dating to 2004, he had been convicted of common law robbery, breaking and entering, drug possession, larceny, and carrying a concealed weapon, serving two years behind bars. He was scheduled to appear in Buncombe County District Court on June 11 on a number of new charges. But those who knew him remembered a talented athlete who played basketball for Asheville Middle School and Reynolds High. "He was a great kid," said Asheville Middle School baseball coach Tommy Gassaway, who coached Morgan in youth basketball and baseball leagues. "He was kind of lost, but he had the best smile in the world. When he did something good and you complimented him, he would have the biggest smile on his face."
The shooting sparked a community meeting of residents in the area, with police officers in attendance, held at the Dr. Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Center, as residents and police tried to find answers to the violence. Asheville officers have expressed frustration that few leads developed despite the large number of witnesses. "We understand that in certain pockets of communities, there's a code. Snitching, you don't do it," Lt. Don Eberhardt said. "But I've been asking myself ... where do we draw the line?" For their part, some residents have said privately they fear for their own safety if they speak with the media or offer information to the police. Others said they just didn't want to get involved.
Police are investigating a fatal shooting that happened about 3:10 a.m. Sunday. Officers seized six 9mm shell casings and five 40 shell casings, according to an incident report. At least two residents at the meeting, which focused on violence in the community, voiced concerns about the unsolved deaths of their relatives. Officers talked about the problems they encounter in getting witnesses to go on record. "Unfortunately, more and more now, in society, since we're through a couple generations of don't snitch, stop snitching, it's less and less likely we're going to get information and we have to work harder and harder," Capt. Tim Splain said. Most of the people who attended the meeting Thursday evening were African-American and a few asked why crimes in their community went unsolved. Morgan was black and had an extensive criminal record. Neither race nor criminal history factor into the thoroughness of an investigation, police said. "Regardless of what Charles Keith Morgan may have done in his past, that was still a human being," Eberhardt said. Morgan's funeral is at 1 p.m. Friday at Nazareth First Baptist Church. Public viewing will begin at 11 a.m. at the church and burial will be at Sunset Cemetery. Thirty people witnessed a fatal shooting, but police have not made an arrest in the case.
