Deputy Kills Unarmed Man after Robbery

Athens (myFOXla.com) - Sheriff Lee Baca on Tuesday called for an expedited investigation into a deputy's fatal shooting of a man who matched the description of an armed robbery suspect, but no weapon was found and his family said he did nothing to warrant being targeted.

Department spokesman Steve Whitmore told the Los Angeles Times that Baca ordered the investigation be completed within 90 days. The typical investigation into a deputy-involved shooting can take up to a year, The Times reported in a story posted on its Web site.

Darrick Collins Sr., a 36-year-old father of two who had hoped to attend barber school, died at a hospital following the shooting, which occurred at 10:07 p.m. Monday in the 1200 block of Poindexter Street in the unincorporated community of Athens.

At a late afternoon news conference, Collins' mother, Bernastein Huckabee, said, "I just want justice for my son, that's what I want. Why they had to shoot him in his back. It's pathetic how they did this ... They took my son away from me."

James Walker, the dead man's uncle, said, "We need that officer fired from his job. He needs to be charged with murder in the first degree."

Collins had finished playing a video game with a friend, Jay Johnson, just before the shooting.

Two deputies from the Lennox Station were on patrol and looking for suspects involved in an armed robbery when they saw the pair, who matched the description of the suspects, said sheriff's Sgt. Diane Hecht.

"When the deputies went to contact the two men, one of the men began running from the deputies," Hecht said.

"As one of the deputies chased the suspect, he reached into his waistband," she said. "Believing the suspect was reaching for a weapon, the deputy, in fear for his safety and that of his partner, fired several rounds from his duty weapon at the suspect. The suspect was hit in the upper torso."

No weapon was found, and there was no immediate indication that Collins was involved in the heist.

Sheriff's Lt. Dave Dolson told reporters at the scene that Collins ran after being ordered to "freeze."

Dolson said deputies never questioned him about the robbery "before he ran and the shooting occurred."

"We're looking into whether he was involved, but we don't have that information at this time," Dolson said.

"Why would they kill him?" said Kendra Dean, the mother of one of Collins' children, a 16-month-old boy. "They're supposed to serve and protect. They ain't doing that for me. They ain't doing that for Derrick Collins Senior because they killed him, they shot him down."

Added Eric Huckabee: "They just murdered my brother, that's what they did. It was a wrongful shooting and whoever the deputy was should go to jail for murder."

The Sheriff's Department did not immediately release details of the armed robbery that prompted the search culminating in the shooting.