| December
5, 2001 |
| |
| Three
Shot, One Dead in Central Burke |
| |
A 73-year-old Valdese man is
dead after a shooting Wednesday night, and investigators say his assailant shot
himself immediately afterwards.
Burke County Sheriff's Office deputies,
along with Drexel and Valdese Police officers responded to 4689 Lakeview Acres
Road and found Rickey Allen Coffey (right), 45,
of Lenoir in the driveway of the residence with an apparent self-inflicted
gunshot to the face. Coffey was alive and moving around on his hands and knees,
investigators said. |
 |
|
| According to Sheriff John T. McDevitt, who was
on the scene, officers found Coffey's father-in-law, Maynard Memory Reece dead
inside the residence from a gunshot wound to the torso. Reece's grandson,
Robert Jeramie Abernathy, 26, was inside the home suffering from a gunshot
wound to his right arm. |
| |
| McDevitt said the shooting apparently stemmed
from a domestic situation between Coffey and his estranged wife, Kim, who is
Maynard Reece's daughter. Rickey Coffey reportedly called the home a short time
before the shooting and exchanged words with Reece over the telephone.
|
| |
| Around 10:00 PM, McDevitt said Coffey came to
the residence with a rifle and was met at the back door by Abernathy and Reece.
After exchanging some words, Coffey allegedly fired the rifle through the door,
striking both Abernathy and Reece with the same bullet. Rickey Coffey
apparently then went to the driveway area and shot himself with the rifle,
which was found near him when officers arrived. |
| |
| Kim Coffey was inside the home with her teenage
daughter at the time of the shooting, detectives said. She nor the girl were
injured. |
| |
| "It's a very sad time for this family,
especially during the holiday season," McDevitt said. "Mr. Reece's wife was in
Arkansas to attend her brother's funeral when her husband was
killed." |
| |
| Detective David Warlick of the Burke County
Sheriff's Office said intoxicant usage by Coffey has not been ruled out as a
factor. |
| |
| Warlick obtained a warrant for murder against
Coffey, who was airlifted to Baptist Hospital in Winston Salem. Warlick said
the warrant will be served on Coffey upon his release from the hospital. |
| |
| Robert Abernathy was treated and released from
Valdese Hospital. |
| |
| ************************************************************** |
| |
| Other Recent Press Releases: |
| |
|
|
| |
| To view previous press releases, visit our
archives
file |
