DINWIDDIE COUNTY, Va. -- The mother of a Dinwiddie teenager arrested and charged with the murder of his own father says what her son did was "pure self-defense."
Dinwiddie sheriff’s deputies said 18-year-old James Patrick Faisonwas charged with first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony after a fatal shooting Tuesday ended a domestic dispute between the teenager and his father, 42-year-old Irvin Wayne Faison.
Court documents reveal that things inside the small home on Lee Drive had escalated to the point where Faison’s ex-wife and son went to deputies not only looking for protection in 2012, but for help.
Rachel Casey
“All he wanted was his dad to love him and his dad just never gave that to him,” said Rachel Casey, the mother of 18-year-old James Patrick Faison.
She admitted there have been problems between the two for years.
“I told the Dinwiddie officers three years ago that either he was going to kill us or we were going to have to kill him," Casey said. "Somebody was going to end up dying because this was dangerous – and nobody believed me."
Casey admitted that things have been strained between her son and ex-husband for years.
In May of 2012, James asked for a protective order against his father. The court granted that request for two years. The month before, Casey obtained an emergency protective order against her husband. But on Tuesday the father and son clashed again.
Casey maintains what happened was “pure self-defense" and said that her son is in a state of disbelief about what happened.
Michael Baumgras, Wayne Faison’s brother.
Faison's family members are still coming to grips with the tragedy.
“We’re still pretty much in a state of shock," said Michael Baumgras, Faison’s brother.
While Faison’s family members admitted that he had problems with his son, they said he went out of his way to help others.
“The way I look at it, if you felt threatened, or something like that, you could have maybe just shot him in the leg or something -– or tried to run out to where he couldn’t get to you," Baumgras said.
Additionally, Baumgras said he is waiting for his 80-year-old mother to return home so they can finalize funeral arrangements.
Stay with WTVR.com and CBS 6 News for continuing coverage of this important local story.
