The slaying of a Black teen in White Settlement, Texas in September was not “racially motivated,” police said Monday amid heighten racial tensions in the nation.
RELATED: Black Teen Killed In White Settlement, Texas During Robbery
Four suspects— Sean Garrison, 23, Tyee Garrison, 18, Kyle Garrison, 17 and Chase Allan Nix, 24—are facing capital murder charges for the killing of 18-year-old Xavier Olesko, of Fort Worth, on September 18, the Star-Telegram reports. Olesko, a popular and promising high school student, was shot to death in the northwestern suburb of Fort Worth during an attempted robbery after reportedly going to hang out with acquaintances. The case involving the arrested suspects, who are White, has not turned up any evidence indicating race was a factor, according to police in White Settlement, a predominantly white suburb whose name is steeped in the idiom of racial oppression.
A Facebook photo of a male purporting to be one of the four suspects standing in front of a Confederate flag with a “White Pride” tattoo on his back raised questions about a racially charged slaying. But cops, however, believe the controversial photo has no connection to the case.
Olesko, who was living temporarily with a family at a home in White Settlement, was hanging out with friends in the backyard on September 18. He left to meet acquaintances in the front of the home before a shot rang out. Olesko was fatally wounded in the chest and pronounced dead at the scene, said police officers who responded to a call at 8:14 p.m.
The teen was allegedly lured into a meeting by the suspects, and the Garrison brothers had planned on robbing Olesko, WFAA reported.
No one was seen on foot or in a vehicle leaving the area after the slaying, said witnesses to investigators.
The Garrisons were arrested on Wednesday and are being held in lieu of bail. Nix, who turned himself into police Friday, is also being held.
The Tarrant County district attorney’s office accepted the case Wednesday, according to police.
SOURCE: Star-Telegram, WFAA
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Killing Of Black Teen In White Settlement Was Not Racially Motivated, Police Say was originally published on newsone.com
