Shooting fatality in home ruled self-defense

Date: 1/5/2008

No charges planned; victim lived in house

By Schuyler Kropf

The Post and Courier

Saturday, January 5, 2008

SUMMERVILLE — No charges will be filed against a man who shot and killed his roommate on New Year's Eve, authorities said Friday, contending that the shooter acted in self-defense against a violent and out-of-control figure who had forced his way back into the house.

Brian Sessoms, 24, was shot with a handgun in the chest, stomach and elbow after he climbed back into the home through a second-story window, according to a sheriff deputy's report.

Guy Fulcher holds a photo of his son Brian Sessoms.

Before the shooting, Sessoms was described in a 911 call as drunk, in a violent rage and beating and dragging others.

After reviewing the 911 dispatch audiotapes from that night, 9th Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said she will not file charges against the shooter, Joseph Harriott, 25.

Harriott's actions are covered by the state's "Castle Doctrine" law of self- defense, she said. The doctrine allows homeowners to use necessary force, including gunfire, to protect themselves in the face of impending danger or injury.

"I shot Sessoms because he was trying to get to the girls," Harriott told deputies that night.

The incident occurred around midnight at a house at 701 Buckthorn Circle off U.S. Highway 78, in the Berkeley County portion of Summerville.

Witnesses told investigators that Sessoms became violent and tried to get back inside the house, where his girlfriend was.

Audio clip

911 Call for Brian Sessoms

Sessoms' last documented address was in Cross, but he had lived in the Summerville home for at least two weeks, and possibly as long as two months. He and possibly as long as two months. He and Harriott were friends.

Tapes of the phone calls to a 911 dispatcher indicate that after a scuffle erupted, Sessoms was banging on the outside of the home, ringing the doorbell and acting unpredictably.

"No one can make sense of it," Wilson said.

Sessoms reportedly was warned that he would be shot if he came back, authorities said.

People in the home apparently thought Sessoms had calmed down and had left the scene, authorities said.

But amid several 911 calls from the home, and before Berkeley County sheriff's deputies arrived, authorities say they think Sessoms climbed onto an air-conditioning unit to reach a second-floor window.

Once inside, Sessoms came down the stairs after chasing some of the three women who were in the house.

That's when he was shot.

The 911 tapes also indicate that Harriott tried to save Sessoms' life by applying pressure to his wounds immediately after the shooting. Police recovered a .380-caliber handgun.

A toxicology report on Sessoms has not been completed.

Sessoms' family members expressed outrage that the incident did not lead to criminal charges.

"We feel my nephew was murdered in cold blood," said Regina Sessoms, the dead man's aunt. "He was not a home invader, he was living there and paying rent."

She added, "How can it be self-defense against someone who was unarmed?"

Sessoms did not have a weapon during the event, authorities confirmed.

He was 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighed 155 pounds.

Reach Schuyler Kropf at skropf@postandcourier.comor 937-5551.

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