Two teenagers are facing capital murder charges after police say they killed a man during a robbery and wounded a classmate who witnessed the shooting.
Mary Ducking said she was making breakfast for her kids at about 10:30 a.m. when they ran inside and told her that two teens were fighting with her fiancé, 45-year-old Maurice Crawford, in the front yard of her home in the 2000 block of Meadow Lark Lane.
Her 16-year-old son Demorius Ducking went outside to see what all the commotion was.
“I was in the kitchen and, in the process of me running outside, I heard a gunshot,” said Mary Ducking. “So I came outside. I saw Maurice, which is my fiancé, laying in the grass over there flat on his face. My son was right here.”
Irving police said two males, identified in an arrest warrant affidavit and during a news conference as 17-year-old Miguel Martinez and an unnamed 16-year-old juvenile, fatally shot Crawford while attempting to rob him Saturday morning. They then turned the gun on Demorius, who police said was their schoolmate, and shot him in the face after he called them out by name.
Irving PD says adult male is dead, juvenile male was injured, and two teen suspects are in custody following shooting pic.twitter.com/KfsoeUe3Qo
— Tim Ciesco (@TimCiescoNBC5) August 29, 2015
"[Demorius] was at least conscious enough that he was able to give us the names of the suspects," Irving Police Department's Officer James McLellan said. "That’s why we can say he knew them to a certain extent."
Right after the shooting, witnesses told police the males ran to a home along Spanish Trail, which is about three blocks away. Police quickly located them and one person immediately surrendered.
“The second suspect did not come out of the house, so our SWAT team was called,” said McLellan.
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After a short standoff, the second male surrendered peacefully.
Irving police said Monday Martinez is being held on a capital murder charge without bond and on an aggravated assault charge on a $75,000 bond. The juvenile is also being held on a capital murder bond, but it'll be up to the Dallas County District Attorney's Office if the teen is tried as an adult or juvenile.
Mary Ducking said she hopes they get put away for a long time.
“I thank God that they got the people,” said Mary Ducking. “I thank God that my son is OK. My heart is crushed. Maurice was a good guy. He was a hard working guy. He loved his family.”
Ducking said she doesn’t know why the teens came to her house or why they started fighting with Crawford. Police said they think the teens set out that morning to rob someone and just happened to find Crawford sitting in his vehicle.
McLellan said during a news conference Monday that the teens walked up to Crawford, who was sitting in his car smoking, and demanded he exit his vehicle and give them his property.
Crawford refused and the three began fighting. McLellan said the 16-year-old was originally holding the gun but dropped it during the fight. He said it was picked up by Martinez who then shot Crawford at the instance of the unnamed juvenile depsite the pleas from Ducking.
Brian Rodriguez lives a few houses down and knows both teens. He told NBC 5 they always seemed like smart guys.
“This is very surprising,” said Rodriguez. “I never thought something would go this far. Thank God they’re both in custody.”
Officials with the Irving Independent School District said Saturday night that they will have crisis counselors available to students at Nimitz High School, the school Demorius Ducking attends.
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Search Warrant Affidavit
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