NEW HANOVER COUNTY — The district attorney’s office announced Friday it would not be seeking criminal charges against three sheriff’s office deputies who opened fire at a resistant suspect in June.
READ MORE: ‘Senseless acts of lawlessness’: 1 dead, 3 on paid administrative leave from overnight shooting
Steven Ryan Todd, 34, was fatally shot in the early hours of June 14 after attempting to flee from police. Todd — who had stolen a truck, boat and two firearms — had multiple felony warrants for his arrest. The Wilmington Police Department attempted to detain him at the Castle Street boat ramp the previous afternoon.
The three New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office deputies involved in the shooting were put on paid administrative leave pending a review by the State Bureau of Investigation. The detectives were Eric Tello, Aaron Naughten and J. Hill (the DA’s release only provided first initials as identification).
“These detectives were fully justified at that point in using deadly force,” District Attorney Ben David wrote in a press release.
A total of 51 shots were fired; 28 hit Todd.
“A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed that the stolen Glock 9mm handgun was on the floorboard of the rear passenger area, the area where Todd was reaching,” David wrote in his statement. “The firearm was fully loaded with a round in the chamber. The other shotgun was located in the toolbox in the bed of the truck, and it too was loaded.”
The statement was released alongside a statement of facts outlining the events leading up to the shooting.
The case began when WPD officers received a report of a stolen Ford F-150 truck, 24-foot boat and trailer from a residence on Rogersville Road. The pistol and shotgun were located in the truck when it was stolen.
At the scene, WPD recovered a moped left behind and traced the registration back to Todd.
Around 7 p.m. that night, off-duty NHCSO Detective Justin Shingleton observed the stolen boat unoccupied at downtown’s Dram Tree Park boat ramp at 602 Surry St. After reporting the discovery, he also found the truck, with Todd nearby.
As police arrived, Todd fled the scene, making two attempts to hit Shingleton as he left, according to the DA’s statement. WPD officers then attempted to make a traffic stop on the vehicle, as they chased Todd down South Front Street, Carolina Beach Road, then onto Shipyard Boulevard. With Todd reaching speeds of approximately 110 mile per hour, the WPD called off the pursuit to preserve officer and citizen safety.
Arrest warrants were issued against Todd for felony flee to elude arrest, felony
possession of a stolen motor vehicle, assault on a government official, assault with a deadly weapon, and several other related charges.
NHCSO deputies, including Tello, Naughten and Hill, were dispatched to search for Todd; they determined his location to be the intersection of College Road and Wilshire Boulevard around 11 p.m. When officers arrived, they located the stolen truck, which fled the scene. Officers attempted to box in Todd at the intersection of South Kerr Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard.
Attempting to escape, Todd ran up an embankment and got stuck in the rear parking lot of Harris Teeter. Tello, Naughten and Hill exited their vehicles, as another detective observed Todd “searching or reaching for something” and ignoring multiple commands to put up his hands.
“After Todd failed to heed commands and continued to reach for something, all three detectives believed their lives were in danger and opened fire,” the statement of facts detail. “This belief was based on the knowledge that Todd had earlier used the truck as a deadly weapon against law enforcement officers in a prior encounter, that the truck could still be used as a deadly weapon against them, that he fled WPD officers at high speeds with disregard for the safety of the community, and that he was in
possession of at least two loaded firearms, and that he tried to evade detectives minutes before.”
The SBI investigation report was reviewed by senior assistant district attorneys in the Sixth Prosecutorial Judicial District who make up the “officer shooting review team.” The DA’s conclusions were reported to Sheriff Ed McMahon.
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