Guilty verdict returned in 2012 shooting that paralyzed victim

A jury returned a guilty verdict Wednesday in the attempted second-degree murder trial of Tedarrius Myles. Myles was charged in a 2012 shooting that left Shaphan Word paralyzed and wheelchair-bound.

Myles fired three shots at Word in the early hours of Aug. 15, 2012. Word said Myles robbed the minimart where he worked days before the shooting. He thinks Myles targeted him to keep him from speaking up about the robbery, which he never reported.

Police responded to a call of shots fired at 2000 Windsor Street about 1 a.m. Aug. 15 and found Word lying in the street, according to an arrest affidavit. A bullet entered below Word's shoulder blade and exited his neck.

Word was at the courthouse Wednesday to hear the jury's verdict. He said afterward he was glad to see justice served. He'd been worried that Myles would be "enjoying his health, walking, clubbing, doing the things that he likes to do while I'm going through what I'm going through," he said.

The state's case against Myles hinged on a surveillance video from the parking lot of the Thankful Baptist Church. Prosecutors said the video shows Myles, with a distinctive tattoo on his left arm, lifting a gun and shooting at Word.

Later, in an attempt to match his image to that on the video, investigators brought Myles back to the scene to film him again in similar light. Jurors were shown the first image, a still photo taken from the original surveillance video, alongside the still from the staged second video.

"I would submit to you that you have a video of an attempted murder, and you know who did it," Assistant District Attorney Brian Finlay told the jury during closing arguments.

Myles' attorney, Lloyd Levitt, called the police handling of the case rushed and suggested the bullet that struck Word could have come from another shooter.

"A proper investigation was not done in this case," Levitt said.

Myles was also found guilty of employing a firearm during the comission of a dangerous offense. A sentencing hearing is set for Nov. 10.

Contact staff writer Claire Wiseman at cwiseman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347.

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