Asheville mother arrested after son's fatal shooting calls for justice on his birthday

HENDERSONVILLE - Standing where Elijah Timmons III died nine months ago — his head wound exposed from under a white sheet while his mother was arrested — Patricia King called for justice, accountability and truth for her son, whose place of death is now covered by fresh paint in a Hendersonville parking lot.

King and 35 loved ones were celebrating what would have been his 31st birthday on Aug. 21 and demanding further investigation into the shooting death of their friend, father, cousin, brother and son, at the Orchard Bar and Grill’s parking lot in Hendersonville.

“This has been an injustice from the jump, and I need people to be held accountable, not just the people who murdered my son, but the people that are allowing them to just walk free. I just beg you all to please ask questions,” King said while surrounded by her family.

Red, white and black balloons inked with Timmons III’s name rose to the sky amid chants of “justice for Elijah, accountability, we want the truth to come out.”

As young children, including Timmons III's sons, ran around gawking at the balloons, his cousins, sister, and girlfriend recalled Timmon's III infectious laugh, love for music and "life of the party" personality.

"You could have your back turned, if you heard that boy laugh, you knew it was him. If he laughed, you started laughing," Trenace Timmons, Timmons III's sister, said.

"He was a standup guy, loved by everyone and a great father," cousin Keem Smith said.

Timmons III, 30, of Asheville, was shot and killed the night of Nov. 24 while in a crowd of people. His cousin, Najah Underwood, said they had come to the club with her boyfriend and Timmon III's girlfriend, Tyshala Pea, after spending Thanksgiving with their family.

Later that night, Underwood was already in the parking lot when she saw Timmons III exit the building and a "flock of people" crowd around him and then break into a "street fight." Pea said she was pulling the car to the front of the parking lot when she saw multiple people hitting Timmons III.

His recently released autopsy shows sections of Timmons III’s hair had been pulled from his scalp. His father, Elijah Timmons Jr., collected strands of his son's hair and pieces of his t-shirt from the scene that night, he previously told the Citizen Times.

More: Assault charge dropped for mother arrested at son's shooting; she still seeks justice

Hendersonville Police Department investigated but closed the case without charges in a self-defense ruling based on surveillance camera footage, a gun and shell casings found at the scene. Police say surveillance footage shows Timmons III fired a gun first before the shooter fatally shot him in the head.

Underwood said Timmons III didn’t have a gun when they left her mother's house for the club that night. She was never interviewed by police, she said. Timmons III’s death investigation by the medical examiner states the firearm recovered from the scene and believed to belong to him “was a different caliber than the shell casings found.”

“The recently received report does not change this conclusion (of self-defense),” Chief Blair Myhand said when the Citizen Times asked about the findings in May.

“As such, the Hendersonville Police Department considers this case closed. Investigators will continue to review new evidence presented, but absent new evidence, the case closure and the self-defense determination remains unchanged.”

The Citizen Times reached out to Myhand Aug. 22 for an update and comment.

More: Asheville mother says her arrest as son died in fatal shooting was 'inhumane'

Bystanders, a police procedure expert and local justice advocates who watched bystander video from that night agreed the scene was handled “inhumanely” and a taser pulled on a bystander holding a child was “not justified,” as highlighted in a Citizen Times investigation .

After racing to the parking lot from her home in Asheville, the decedent’s mother, King, was slammed to the ground, allowed to sit handcuffed with her pants dragged below her waist and charged with misdemeanors, which were later dropped after extensive Citizen Times reporting.

Like Underwood and Pea, no eyewitnesses were interviewed at the scene that night. City spokesperson Allison Justus said no written statements were collected because none of the eyewitnesses to the crime were "willing to speak with officers." Both District Attorney Andrew Murray and Chief Myhand stated that King's "uncontrollable behavior" contributed to the unrest with the bystanders.

"The way the police acted toward the crowd and the crime scene, that kind of turned everybody off," Timmons Jr. previously told the Citizen Times. "The attitude of the officers reflect the attitude of the witnesses out there that night, who could've given the proper statement."

Smith filed a petition to view officer-worn camera footage from that night, and during the following court hearing, both Myhand and Murray said in court that they have no objection to King also watching the surveillance camera footage from the Orchard Bar and Grill of her son's shooting.

Smith later went to Hendersonville and viewed some individual clips of the shooting, which she claims are different or altered from the one she originally saw when police were attempting to identify the shooter. She said she still hasn't seen the officer-worn footage because she'd like to have someone with her while viewing the videos but is only allowed to have an attorney with her, which has been a struggle to find.

More: Henderson County judge orders more police video showing mother arrested at son's shooting

City Attorney Angela Beeker offered to set up a Zoom meeting while Smith sits in a room in City Hall to view the videos approved by the court, according to emails obtained by the Citizen Times.

Smith has submitted a public records request Aug. 9 for several pieces of information from that night, which has not yet been returned. In an Aug. 13 email, Beeker said they are working to gather the records, though some are not considered public record as criminal investigative records under North Carolina General Statute 132-1.4.

"This is the actual parking lot where his life was taken ... I need absolute justice for my son. I need people to be held accountable," King said Aug. 21.

Her request: "Prove me wrong."

Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at rober@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville mother arrested after son's fatal shooting calls for justice on his birthday