PA) Man who shot robber freed 01-24-03

York man freed – York Daily Record
Address:http://ydr.com/story/main/5748/
A prosecutor said the man was justified in using deadly force when
mugged Saturday.
By MICHELE CANTY and RICK LEE
Daily Record staff
Friday, January 24, 2003

Bil Bowden – YDRBrenda Pinkney welcomes her son, Randell Jackson,
outside York County Prison on Thursday night.

Authorities dropped a homicide charge against Jackson in the shooting
death of Jamil D.
Lomax, saying his actions were in self-defense.
‘I feel sorry for the other family,’ his mother said. ‘This is a real
tragedy, but that could’ve been my son.’bigger versionRandell Jackson
didn’t know Jamil D. Lomax.

He said he did not want him to die.

“It was a life-and-death situation,” Jackson, 20, said Thursday night
while sitting at the kitchen table of his mother’s home in the 800 block
of West King Street. “I felt I had to defend myself.” Lomax was shot and
killed early Saturday morning. The next day, York Police charged Jackson
in the homicide and sent him to York County Prison.

York Police say Jackson was the target of four robbers, including Lomax,
who followed
Jackson and attacked him as he got out of his car.

On Thursday, charges against Jackson were dismissed by the York County
District Attorney’s Office.

At 8:15 p.m., Jackson walked out of the metal gates at the prison and
into the arms of his girlfriend, Robyn Folk. After their kisses, his
mother, Brenda Pinkney, rushed forward, pulling her son close for a hug.

“It just feels like a burden has been lifted off my shoulders,” Pinkney
said. “I just thank God he’s coming home.”

Murder charges remain against three other men, Michael L. Rankins,
Kenneth Ray and Juan Harris Jr. Police said the men, along with Lomax,
conspired to rob Jackson near his home because they thought he had a
large sum of money.

York Police said the men followed Jackson and tried to ambush him. But,
police said, as Lomax struggled with Jackson, Jackson pulled his own
handgun and shot Lomax in the head, neck, arm and hip.

Lomax, 22, was found lying in the street in front of 827 W. King St. and
later pronounced dead at York Hospital. His family could not be reached
Thursday for comment.

A witness identified Jackson as the gunman and he was arrested and
charged. Rankins and Ray were charged with robbery and homicide. They
remain in York County Prison without bail and Harris remains at large.

Graff said Jackson was charged because “at the time, he refused to talk
and all I had was a dead body and witnesses. There was no choice but to
file homicide charges.”

Jackson said he’d been advised by his family, who had consulted a
lawyer, not to talk to police until he had legal counsel.

Rankins and Ray gave statements about the stickup and Lomax’s fatal
shooting to investigators, Graff said. After Jackson spoke with his
attorney, Thomas L. Kearney, he agreed to give a statement to police.

“His (Jackson’s) story was consistent with what they (investigators)
already knew,” Kearney said. “And I gather based on that statement they
determined my client’s use of a firearm was justified.”

Graff explained the homicide charges will remain against the other men.

“If it were not for their felony acts, there would not be a murder,”
Graff said. “They created a situation where a death occurred. It just
happened to be their co-defendant.”

Jackson said he didn’t know the men who police say tried to rob him, but
had seen them before in the neighborhood.

The killing occurred during the weekend Jackson was celebrating his
birthday. He turned 20 on Jan. 16.

“This was one heck of a birthday weekend. I didn’t ask for all this,” he
said.

Jackson said he wasn’t sure why the men thought he had a large amount of
money with him.

Although the felony charge against him has been dropped, Jackson said he
worries about being charged with possession of an illegal handgun. A
charge, he said, could hurt his chances at getting into Lincoln
University near Philadelphia, where he’d like to attend college.

Jackson said he knows he shouldn’t have had a gun, but if he hadn’t, he
might not be alive. He said he has a clean record and he’s trying to
keep it that way.

One thing that reassured Jackson while he was in prison was that his
family stood by him. “I must’ve had a thousand prayers going up for me,”
he said.

He too, looked for divine intervention.

“I prayed every day I was there, probably every hour, too. I just hoped
things would work out right.”