Man Shoots Roommate Dead For Locking Their Apartment Door

A man allegedly killed his roommate by shooting him dead for locking the door of their apartment in Raleigh, North California on July 5.

The suspect, Ladarius Gordon, reportedly got upset when he returned to his flat at the Hilldale Apartments, 3558 Westline Drive on July 5 and found the apartment door locked. This led to a heated argument between Gordon and his roommate, during which the suspect, in a fit of rage, allegedly pulled a pistol with an extended magazine from his waistband and shot his roommate to death, FOX13 Memphis reported.

According to several witnesses, Gordon stood over the victim and continued shooting even after his roommate had fallen to the ground. The witnesses stated that the roommate looked as if he wanted to fight Gordon.

When the officers responded to the scene, they found the man lying outside the apartment with multiple gunshot wounds to his upper torso and chest area. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

On July 11, members of the Two Rivers Violent Fugitive Task Force and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Apprehension Team found Gordon at a residence on Fizer Avenue in Memphis and took him into custody, charging him with first-degree murder.

In a similar but unrelated incident, a Lake County man was arrested on July 8 after he allegedly shot his roommate to death with a pellet gun for annoying him, Latin Times reported.

Jesse Franklin Hill, 42, has been charged with one count each of manslaughter, a second-degree felony, and tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony, for allegedly fatally shooting his 44-year-old roommate, Ernie Wayne Wilburn, with a pellet gun and later attempting to get rid of the body and the firearm.

On May 4, Hill was allegedly inside his home with his girlfriend when he heard his roommate Wilburn yelling outside. The victim had been locked out of the home because he had forgotten his keys and was yelling for Hill to let him in. The suspect, who was in his bedroom, felt annoyed by Wilburn's yelling, grabbed his Ruger .22 caliber air rifle, and shot Wilburn through the bedroom window.

When investigators with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office arrived at the scene, they found Wilburn’s body lying in the living room floor. According to witnesses who were present at the home, Hill “willfully and intentionally moved” Wilburn’s body from its original position and then “repositioned the remains, covered the remains with a sheet and couch cushions to conceal the remains.”

Hill also allegedly tried to hide the air rifle used to shoot his roommate. Investigators later found the weapon “hidden in shrubbery” outside of the house.

Following the shooting, Hill fled the scene. However, he was eventually found and arrested on July 8.