Former DB Charles Harper victim of homicide

[Bornthrilla]

Article published Jul 29, 2007
Funeral held for shooting victim
By TaMaryn Waters
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

QUINCY - Family members of the late Charles Harper lined the walkway of St. James AME Church for his funeral Saturday.

Some held hands for comfort. Others came in quietly.

The small sanctuary swelled to more than 300 people who gathered to remember Harper and say one last goodbye. On July 21, Harper, 26, a Quincy native, was shot in the head outside the Top Flite Club in Tallahassee. He died later that day at the hospital.

Childhood friend Cleo Wiggins-Lee pressed her hand against her mouth, wrestling with the idea of whether to go inside. She didn't want her memories of Harper, a jokester who loved to call everyone "Dude," to be tainted by the reality of the gray casket.

"I'm not used to him being still like that," she said before going inside for the service. "He was a go-getter."

Several traveled from far away to attend.

"This is not a coincidence that this church is packed this morning," said Willie Simmons, who lives in Tennessee. "Part of what people see in me is because of him."

Simmons, who spoke during the funeral, said he met Harper when they were in the fourth grade, and the two became as close as brothers. His recollections of Harper's love for baseball triggered head nods from the family. And a joke about Harper's love for home-cooked food drew laughter.

Marilyn Gunn, who officiated the services, remembered Harper when she taught him in seventh grade at the Carter-Parramore Academy in Quincy.

"I want the world to know that Quincy loved Charles Harper," she said. "Charles Harper was a phenomenal man. Charles Harper was a smart man. ... We love Charles Harper."

The same day Harper died, Tallahassee police arrested Jimmy Ray Hair Jr., 26, on a charge of second-degree murder. He is being held without bail in the Leon County Jail.

[Bornthrilla]

Article published Jul 22, 2007
Man arrested in fatal shooting
Misunderstanding ends in gunfire
By Stacy Jacobs
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

Tallahassee police arrested a man Saturday on a charge of second-degree murder after he allegedly shot and killed another man outside a nightclub before surrendering to authorities.

Jimmy Ray Hair Jr., 26, of Tallahassee, is being held without bail in the Leon County Jail. He is accused of shooting Charles E. Harper outside the Top Flite Club, 623 Osceola St. Harper, also 26, of Quincy, later died at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.

John Creamer, a spokesman for the Tallahassee Police Department, said Hair and Harper got into an argument inside the nightclub. Off-duty officers were at the club, but they didn't see the argument, and no one reported it because at the time, it appeared minor, Creamer said.

Later, Harper and his friends were heading to their car when a silver Dodge Charger pulled up next to them.

Hair, a passenger, allegedly fired once, striking Harper in the head. It happened about 2:15 a.m., after the club closed.

"(Harper's) friends pulled him out of the road," Creamer said.

Off-duty officers who were at the club ran to help. Harper was taken to TMH; he died about 10 a.m.

Acting on a tip, police went looking for Hair. They surrounded his residence at Le Marais townhomes on West Tharpe Street across from Godby High School. A crisis negotiator with a bullhorn ordered him to come out with his hands up. Police broke down his door about 3:10 p.m. But when they went in, he wasn't there.

Less than an hour later, he turned himself in at Police Headquarters. He was with a lawyer and several friends. He didn't speak to investigators before he was taken to jail, Creamer said.

Just after the shooting, the club's floor manager, Alfonso Youmas, described the scene.

"I was walking out," he said. "All I heard was people screaming and saying somebody had been shot."

Kila Fashaw was stuck at the crime scene for hours.

"I was coming down here, and they told me to back up because somebody got shot in the head," she said. "It was a big mess trying to get out of here."

Creamer said the shooting was not gang-related. Police found a firearm that they think might have been used in the shooting. It was the third homicide this year in Tallahassee.

[krazykev]

This is so sad and my Condolences to the family. Another young life taken and for nothing

[Bornthrilla]

Sounds eerily similar to the Herbert Dixon tragedy.

[da heretic]

That's very unfortunate.

[Bigboy]

I knew Charles well. Charles and my cousin James McCoy (ex DB) were very close. When Charles transfered to A&T from Clemson he had already graduated and had 1 more year of eligibility left. He was suppose to transfer to Hampton but he came to A&T because of coach Lee. He was a good ball player and an even better person. He was also a very smart brother. Man, I hate that happen to him. It's sad what's happening to so many of our young brother's.