More details emerge in fatal Christmas shooting in Warner Robins

WARNER ROBINS -- Robert Philson walked outside his Greenwood Drive home on Christmas night after waking up to flashing police lights.

The 83-year-old said he saw "what appeared to be a body" on his front lawn. He was immediately told by city police to step back.

"I was devastated," he said.

Police were dispatched at 8:11 p.m. to a possible robbery in progress and learned while on the way that someone had been shot outside a residence at 115 Oakridge Drive. The street, which runs perpendicular to Greenwood Drive, is in the Tanglewood Estates subdivision off Elberta Road.

After police arrived, Antonio Bagley, the son of Philson's across-the-street neighbor, told officers he shot 19-year-old Jerrell Walker because Walker had tried to rob him, police said. Walker was pronounced dead at the scene. Bagley has declined to comment to The Telegraph.

Jennifer Parson, public information officer for Warner Robins police, said Walker was in a driveway at 115 Oakridge when he was shot once in the torso.

The investigation is ongoing, and police expect to meet with the district attorney and possibly a grand jury to determine whether Bagley was justified in fatally shooting Walker, Parson said via an email.

District Attorney George Hartwig said he has asked to review the investigative case file compiled by police once it's completed.

"I do think ultimately that's my call, but I also will be consulting with the investigators and crime scene folks," Hartwig said.

Hartwig declined to comment specifically on the Walker case. Generally speaking in a case such as this, Hartwig said he could announce his findings, send a letter to Warner Robins police informing them of his decision or take the matter before a grand jury.

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At the time of his death, Walker was facing a hearing in Centerville Municipal Court on a misdemeanor charge of possessing less than an ounce of marijuana.

A small plastic bag of the drug was found in his underwear after he and a friend were pulled over by Centerville police, according to the police report.

Police also found a loaded .44 Magnum handgun in a camouflage book bag in the 2007 Chevrolet Impala his friend was driving. Neither Walker nor his friend, who was charged with misdemeanor traffic offenses, was charged in connection with the gun. The gun remains locked in an evidence vault at the Centerville Police Department.

Walker's mother, Temekia Felder, said she encouraged her son to stop smoking marijuana. She doesn't think he was selling or dealing, and she's convinced he had no reason to rob anyone because he had plenty of spending money of his own. He had a part-time job at a Citgo gas station and received checks at Christmas from both sets of grandparents. If he needed any money, his family provided it, Felder said.

She also thinks there's another side the story other than the one Bagley has told police, and she thinks it's wrong that he remains free after killing her son.

"Whatever happened that night, I just want to know the truth," said Felder, who thinks her son was riding around with friends and was not alone when he was shot. She wants those who were with him that night to tell police what they know.

"I'm not going to let it be no open-and-shut case," said Felder, who expressed frustration over the police investigation. "It's not going to be that, because he had family that really loved, supported him and would give him anything he wanted."

She said she wished her son could tell his side of the story.

"So I'm going to be here to defend him until I really know what went on that day," Felder said. "I'm not going to be on nobody's side. But I will defend my son ... on how I raised him and the person that I knew he was."

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Bagley has faced police scrutiny over a firearm before.

In February 2014, the Bay County Sheriff's Office in Florida recovered a loaded .45-caliber duty pistol reported stolen from the Albany Police Department. It was found in Bagley's possession, according to a sheriff's report.

Bagley was a passenger in a rented car stopped by police, and the gun was found in a black bag between his legs. He also had a small amount of marijuana, the report said.

Bagley told the officer he bought the gun from a friend in Georgia and had it for protection, according to the report. The Florida report listed Bagley's home address as 115 Oakridge Drive, the same address where police were dispatched on Christmas night.

During the 2014 traffic stop, Bagley was arrested on charges of grand theft of a firearm, possession of a concealed firearm and possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana, according to an affidavit signed by the arresting officer.

A Florida judge sentenced Bagley to 12 months on probation with the possibility of early termination at nine months for carrying a concealed firearm and possessing less than 20 grams of marijuana. The judge "withheld adjudication of guilt," according to correspondence between the sheriff's office and the State Attorney's Office.

Under Florida law, that sentencing option allows first-time offenders and those with a minimal criminal history to serve a term of probation without formally being convicted of a criminal offense, said Assistant State Attorney Christine Smallwood.

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The night of the shooting, Dave Bragg was in the den of his Greenwood Drive home when he heard a loud noise that he initially dismissed. But then he saw police lights flashing through his kitchen blinds.

"I thought it was a firecracker," said Bragg, who in retrospect thinks he heard the fatal shot.

Several hours later, Bragg also saw a vehicle being hauled away -- at the direction of police -- from 115 Oakridge. The car was identified in the police report as a silver 2014 Chevrolet Sonic.

Ben Riffle also peered through his dining room blinds that night. His home on Oakridge Drive gave him good views of both the Bagley and Philson residences.

He saw someone doubled over, face down in the grass of Philson's yard. He also saw police tackle another man.

In what seemed to him like just a few moments, a half-dozen or more police cars, lights flashing but with sirens silenced, filled Oakridge Drive. Other emergency vehicles, including a fire truck, also arrived. Police blocked off roads and put up yellow crime-scene tape.

"Nothing like this has ever happened here," Riffle said.

To contact writer Becky Purser, call 256-9559, or find her on Twitter@becpurser.

This story was originally published January 14, 2016 at 5:30 PM with the headline "More details emerge in fatal Christmas shooting in Warner Robins ."