Victim’s family: End violence; suspect’s mom disputes charges

The family of the city’s third homicide victim of 2008 is appealing to Charlottesville’s young residents to put an end to the “senseless” violence.

“No matter what happened between Joshua and the suspects, Joshua did not deserve to be gunned down,” the family said in a statement. “While Joshua is no longer with us, we hope this is the last of the senseless killing. We do not want revenge. We only want to see that someone is held responsible and accountable for their behavior.”

Joshua “Spanky” Magruder, 19, was shot to death at 3 a.m. Saturday in the 700 block of Sixth Street Southeast. His family — Magruder’s mother, twin brother and infant son — issued the statement urging an end to the sort of brutality that left Magruder dead and another teenager wounded in shootings over the weekend.

Meanwhile, the mother of Bobby Wayne Gardner Jr., 25, — one of three Charlottesville residents charged with Magruder’s slaying — is disputing the police version of what happened, saying there was no way Gardner would have murdered his own cousin.

“I know my baby didn’t kill nobody,” said Cheryl Myers, Gardner’s mother. “Especially not his cousin.”

Myers spoke because she believes her son is falsely accused. She agreed to speak about her son, but no one else charged in the fatal shooting.

Gardner told his mother that he headed to Sixth Street in the early hours of Saturday to fight a young man named Jamal. Believing Jamal to be armed, Gardner also brought along a gun, she said.

Gardner, who had been convicted of a felony firearm charge in 2005, knew that he was not supposed to have a gun but feared for his safety, his mother said.

Upon arriving at the scene, Gardner found a large group of people, including Magruder. Magruder told his cousin that something bad was about to happen, Myers said.

“Spanky told him, ‘Cuz, you need to get out of here because something’s about to go down,’” Myers said.

Suddenly a gun fired from somewhere. Believing that Jamal was shooting at him, Gardner started running away and firing back, Myers said.

“He didn’t see where he was shooting. He was just running and shooting,” she said. “He got around a corner and emptied his clip.”

Gardner hopped into a car with Rachel Denise Turner, a 25-year-old resident of Reservoir Road, and they sped off, his mother said.

Myers said that Gardner’s gunfire did not hit anyone, including Magruder. She said that a police detective told her that the ballistics from Gardner’s weapon did not match the bullets that killed Magruder.

Charlottesville police said at a press conference Monday that Gardner was arrested at an Albemarle County hotel room along with Turner, Theodore Calvin Timberlake, 20, and Trenton Michael Brock, 20. Timberlake and Brock were also charged with Magruder’s killing. Turner was charged with being an accessory after the fact.

Contrary to the police narrative, Gardner turned himself in to police Sunday afternoon.

Myers also said that her son did not hide out at Turner’s house over the weekend, as police have alleged.

Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy J. Longo confirmed that Gardner was not among the three suspects arrested at the hotel room.

“She’s accurate, in part,” he said.

Longo said that Gardner turned himself in to police after a SWAT team raided an apartment in Friendship Court at around 6 p.m. Sunday as part of a manhunt for the four suspects. The apartment was vacant, but officers got word the suspects were holed up in a hotel room on U.S. 29.

When word got around the neighborhood that heavily armed police officers were searching for the suspects, Longo said, Gardner showed up at the police station shortly thereafter. The other three suspects, he added, surrendered to police at their hotel room a couple hours later without incident.

“The word on the street was that the police mean business,” Longo said.

Longo said that he does not have any information about the rest of Gardner’s mother’s account. He did say that he does not believe a police officer told her about ballistic evidence.

“I’m not even sure we have the results back yet from the lab,” he said.

In response to Magruder’s death, several shops are collecting donations to help the victim’s family pay for the funeral, flowers and other expenses.

“This is a horrible time for his mother,” said Cornelia Carter, who helps run the 6th Street Mini Mart, which is accepting contributions for the Magruder family. “The only thing other than money that can help her right now is our prayers.”

Magruder visited the 6th Street Mini Mart at least once a day, Carter said, often with his twin brother.

“This violence needs to stop,” she said. “We need to make this community a better place, especially for the children.”

Natre’al Hair Design on Main Street is also collecting contributions. Cherry Avenue Diner plans to do the same.

“I’ve known [Magruder] since he was a little kid,” said Kathy Matthew, proprietor of Natre’al. “Far as I knew, he was a sweet guy.”

The Sixth Street neighborhood is also organizing a community cookout to benefit the family, Carter said.

Karen Waters, executive director of the nonprofit Quality Community Council, said her organization is holding a meeting Monday to help the young people of the city’s troubled neighborhoods find a positive direction.

“We hope to find something positive out of this terrible mess and bring some momentum toward peace and healing instead of this random violence,” she said.

Waters read the Magruder family’s statement Monday night at a Charlottesville City Council meeting.

In the statement, the family urges the city’s young people to realize that violence devastates many more people than just the victim.

“They need to understand that not only are they destroying families that have to live with the loss of a loved one, they also destroy their own families who live on with the guilt of knowing that their child committed such an act,” the statement said.