WDBJ7 Roanoke News and Weather NRV Lynchburg Danville | Family of Corey Ramsey says justice hasn't been served

Family of Corey Ramsey says justice hasn't been served

Roanoke Police met with the Commonwealth's Attorney Tuesday to discuss the case involving a drug store owner who shot and killed a would-be robber.

Last Tuesday, Corey Ramsey entered the Sanco Drug Store in southeast Roanoke with the intent to rob it.  When it was all over, Ramsey was dead and the store clerk was injured.

Ramsey's family and friends believe the store owner went too far and should be punished for it.  As they gathered Monday night for a candlelight vigil in front of the store, they still had plenty of questions as to what happened. 

"The guy went too far because,since he got robbed four times... he just took it out on Corey," says Ramsey's fiancee Violet Barber.  "He didn't have to shoot him that many times."

When 22-year-old Corey Ramsey came into the convenience store, the store's owner Robert Kennedy pulled out a gun.  The two struggled over it and, according to police, Kennedy shot and killed Ramsey.

"I know Corey was wrong for going in there and trying to rob the place, but he was unarmed," says Ramsey's friend Vanessa Moore.  "Corey was a good person.  He wouldn't have harmed anyone."

Roanoke Police have not said whether or not Ramsey was armed.  They also won't say how many times Ramsey was shot.  His family contends he was first shot in the leg and then in the head.

If that is true, his family believes Robert Kennedy should be charged with murder.  They're angry it hasn't happened already.

"I think they are letting a vigilante go," says Ramsey's friend Dana Lucas.  "I think they are showing the public you can kill somebody if they go on your property."

Robert Kennedy has declined to talk about what happened.
 
Ramsey's family and friends believe Ramsey is unjustly being seen as the bad guy.

"When he was in high school, he was the captain of the football team," says Lucas.  "He went to college on a scholarship.  He hurt his knee... that's how he got on pain killers, that's how he got addicted to it.  It wasn't like he was just some junkie."

It's now up to the Commonwealth's Attorney to decide whether Kennedy will face charges.