Chapel Hill police arrested Sherman Albert Tate Sr., 65, on charges of the first-degree murder of his son-in-law James Earl Thompson, 34, on Monday, said Carl Fox, Orange County district attorney.
One witness, who only identified herself by her initials K.W., said two men -- later identified by police as Tate and Thompson -- were arguing loudly in the door of Tate Realty & Construction Co., at 342 W. Rosemary St.
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The argument soon escalated to violence, and Tate allegedly opened fire on Thompson in the vicinity of the parking lot next to the office building, witnesses said. Thompson was shot once in the head before he tried to run, taking two shots in the back before he collapsed in the middle of Mitchell Lane, about 75 yards from West Rosemary Street, they said.
Police would neither confirm nor deny witnesses' accounts and would not say how many shots were fired.
"All I know is that there was more than one shot," said Chapel Hill police spokeswoman Jane Cousins. "It is still under investigation."
Police responded to reports of gunshots at 1:18 p.m. in the area of West Rosemary Street and Mitchell Lane, near a popular student off-campus parking lot and apartment complex.
When Chapel Hill police officers arrived on the scene, Tate, of 104 Apple St., was identified by a witness and quickly taken into custody.
Police were interviewing two potential witnesses, a man and a woman, who told police they saw the shooting.
Officers obtained a handgun believed to be the weapon involved in the shooting. Police also removed a champagne GMC Envoy and a green Lincoln Navigator from the parking lot next to the building but would not comment on any other evidence gathered from the scene.
It was unclear Monday night to whom the cars were registered, but the Envoy was an Enterprise rental car. An Enterprise spokesman would not comment about whom the car possibly was rented by.
Later Monday evening, Tate was taken to Orange County District Court in Hillsborough, where he was charged with first-degree murder. Bond was set at $25,000, which Tate posted that night.
Fox said that he asked the judge for a $100,000 bond but that the judge lowered the amount because Tate has no prior record, is 65 years old and lives in the area.
Tate is the brother of the late George Tate Jr., a prominent Chapel Hill real estate broker who died nine days ago at the age of 70.
Calls to the Tate family were not returned Monday night.
Fox hadn't received the report from the police department, and he wouldn't comment on the sentence he might pursue. But due to the nature of the incident, he said, it is possible the charge will be reduced. "It's not every day you have a 65-year-old man commit a crime like this," he said. "It just doesn't happen that often."
The homicide was the first in Chapel Hill in more than 2 1/2 years and has left the community in shock.
Heather Viscusi, who works across the street from the crime scene, said she was alarmed by a murder so close to home. "It's scary, especially because it was in broad daylight."
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