Pubdate: Wed, 14 Aug 2002
Source: High Point Enterprise (NC)
Copyright: 2002 High Point (N.C.) Enterprise
Contact:  http://www.hpe.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/576
Author: Robert Boyer

VICTIM'S FAMILY MOURNS LOSS

A half-filled beer bottle shares the curb with playing cards, flowers and
candles.

A cross made of broken brown glass bordered in blue and white cloth
decorates the pavement. Blood residue still leaves a dark stain. A letter,
one of several, expresses regret over the loss of Bruce Cochrane.

"Bruce, I hope you are gone to a better place, but I wish you were here on
earth with us," writes friend Candice Armstrong.

The impromptu Vail Avenue memorial, remnants of a candlelight vigil, marks
the spot where Cochrane, 20, of Stanton Place, collapsed and died early
Sunday.

Witnesses say Cochrane, called "Sam" by family and friends, was shot in the
chest area as he sat on a concrete wall on George Place less than a block
away.

Police arrested Brandon Lee Hunt, 18, of Amhurst Avenue shortly after the
slaying and charged him with first-degree murder.

He is in custody without bond at High Point jail. Hunt's first court
appearance is scheduled Aug. 21.

High Point police say a soured drug deal led to the shooting.

However, those who knew Cochrane said he stayed away from drugs.

"He didn't bother anybody. He was like a brother," Armstrong said. "He loved
playing with kids."

They blame his death on a case of mistaken identity.

"Everybody loved him. Everybody knew him," said his mother, Janet Morrison.
"It was not him. They shot the wrong person."

Morrison said the night of the shooting, her son wore clothing that included
a light-colored shirt and a ball cap turned backwards, an outfit she said
supposedly resembled that of a person involved in the drug deal.

But department spokesman Lt. Jim Tate said evidence indicated that only
Cochrane and Hunt were participants in the deal. He added that he was
unaware of any information regarding mistaken identity.

Police indicated Sunday the dispute was over crack cocaine.

Witnesses described the incident as brief and surprising.

"I was looking out the window. The next thing I know, I heard a shot," said
Mary Smith, who lives on Vail Avenue between the locations where Cochrane
was shot and where he died.

Smith said she was gazing out of her bedroom window when a Jeep Cherokee
sped by and turned right onto George Place. It immediately came to a halt
about 3 a.m.

Another witness, who declined to be identified, said someone pointed a
shotgun out a passenger-side window at Cochrane as he sat with friends only
a few feet from the street and fired a single blast.

Smith said she didn't see the actual shooting, but confirmed she heard one
shot and called 911 when she saw Cochrane run down the street past her
house.

"When I got there, he was already dead."

Cochrane was the youngest of Janet Morrison's four children.

Morrison said Cochrane was quiet, but funny. He loved to play basketball and
cards.

His mom said Cochrane liked spending time with several friends at the wall
on George Place but didn't usually stay out real late.

He had planned to attend Guilford Technical Community College beginning
Monday in a program where he would earn his GED while working part-time.

Cochrane had already started a family.

He and Crystal Bethea, his girlfriend of three years, were the parents of
11-month-old Aniyah.

Bethea said she feels emptiness without her boyfriend. The words come with
difficulty.

"We had plans," including marriage, she said, her voice trailing off as
Aniyah played with a set of keys around a coffee table in the house of
Cochrane's grandmother on W. Green Drive.

Morrison thought back to her son's early years when she was asked about his
nickname.

"It comes from 'Green Eggs and Ham,' she said. "He loved the Sam character,"
referring to the well-known Dr. Seuss tale.

Flashing back to the present, Morrison looked at her grand-daughter and
mourned what might have been.

"She'll be 1 year old next month and he won't be there to see it.

"All because somebody out there sold some drugs," Morrison said.
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