CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — A man taken into custody after a fatal shooting Wednesday morning on Woodford Drive in Chesapeake has been released and is currently not charged, police say.
Police originally said the man who was apprehended shot the victim during a fight in front of a home in the 200 Woodford Drive around 3 a.m. They said the victim, 26-year-old Jonathan Cason, confronted the man in front of the man’s home.
Cason, of Chesapeake, died at the scene after officers gave him CPR.
Police say the case is still under investigation.
Cason was known as a man with lots of friends in Virginia and North Carolina. He is mourned by a friend, Tanner Hicks, who came to the front yard on Woodford Drive in Chesapeake where Cason died.
“I don’t know, I don’t know. When I think about him I think he was the best guy you could possibly ever know,” Hicks said while choking back tears. “I just wish this had never happened.”
Police say Cason showed up at the house and engaged in a fight with the man who rents the house. The man then shot Cason.
“The only thing I was told, some kind of altercation and the next thing I know somebody pulled a gun and shot him in the chest that’s all I know,” Hicks said.
After the initial police investigation, the man who rents the home was questioned and released. He has not been criminally charged.
Hicks said he isn’t happy about that.
“I was surprised when this guy wasn’t charged. Very surprised. I did not think someone could get away with doing something like this, especially to somebody who was such a great guy,” he said.
Cason’s family did not want to comment about what happened or there not being any charges filed.
Tanner says Cason helped him during his darkest hour when his father died.
“I had to take a couple of days off, then a week or two. No matter what time of day it was, no matter what was going on, I was able to call Jon. No questions asked. He was there. He was there. He was willing to talk to me whenever I needed help with anything,” he said.
Hicks also wishes he could turn back time.
“If I had known what would happen, I would stop him from coming over here. If I knew he was coming over I would have tried to get him to come to my house. I would have told him to go to anybody’s house to stop this tragedy from happening,” Hicks said.