On the evening of May 7, 2013, in Roanoke, Virginia, a violent encounter left one man dead and another wounded. Wilson Lenin Abarca-Mejia, a 30-year-old male, was found lying in the road in the 1400 block of Abbott Street Northwest, having been shot in the back. He was pronounced dead at the scene. A second man, Juan Berrios, was also found with a gunshot wound to his arm but was conscious and transported to a local hospital.
The subsequent investigation by the Roanoke Police Department
quickly led them to two teenage suspects. Anita Otey, 19, was the first to be taken into custody on May 11, 2013, and was charged with murder. Less than a month later, on June 6, police arrested 19-year-old Damonta Jybrell Ingram, who was also charged with murder in connection with the shooting. At the time of his arrest, Ingram was found in possession of a gun, although it was not immediately confirmed if it was the weapon used in the crime.
Further details emerged through a search warrant, which revealed a connection between Ingram and one of the victims. The warrant indicated that the last phone call made from the injured man's phone was to a number belonging to Ingram. Berrios was able to provide police with a description of a Black male wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with red and white markings. Investigators believed the weapon used may have been a revolver, as no shell casings were recovered from the crime scene. A search of the black Toyota RAV4 the victims were in at the time of the shooting uncovered marijuana, as well as blood and a bloody fingerprint on the hood of the vehicle. Both Otey and Ingram were held at the Roanoke City Jail following their arrests.
