Man charged in Woodrow student's death

May 5—A 20-year-old Hargrove Street man has been charged in the Sunday shooting death of a Woodrow Wilson High School student. The man turned himself in to police on Wednesday afternoon.

Jeriamyah Jacob Fortner was charged Wednesday afternoon with manslaughter and wanton endangerment in the death of 18-year-old Dwayne Richardson, a junior at Woodrow Wilson High School who played on the school's varsity basketball team.

Fortner had accidentally shot Richardson while handling an AR-15 rifle, according to police.

Richardson had helped lead the team to the Class AAAA State Boys' Basketball Tournament, but he died days before he was set to go to Charleston for the game.

Cpl. J.J. Stewart conducted the investigation after Richardson's death, amid an outpouring of grief from the victim's family and friends, team members and the community at large.

"An investigation conducted by the Beckley Police Department Detective Bureau revealed that the victim had been present at 509 Terrill Street with a group of acquaintances prior to the shooting," Lt. Dave Allard stated in a press release Wednesday. "Initial interviews of these individuals provided conflicting information pertaining to both the location of the shooting incident and the circumstances surrounding the victim being shot."

Based on the conflicting statements, police obtained a search warrant for 509 Terrill St.

"During the subsequent search, numerous items of physical evidence were documented and seized for future analysis," Allard stated.

Detectives conducted interviews on Monday and Tuesday, including an interview with Fortner.

Richardson is the son of Dwayne and Keyshia Richardson of Beckley.