Suspect charged in death of Wilmington man shot by accident

A 43-year-old man already in police custody has been charged in the shooting death of 19-year-old Grayson Ewell last year in Wilmington, according to city police.

A grand jury indicted Terrell Mobley on one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder, three counts of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and three counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. 

Wilmington police had arrested Mobley in the 1600 block of Coleman Street, days before his indictment on June 5. Officers say they found Mobley with a loaded 9mm handgun, which he was prohibited from carrying, and took him into custody on those charges.

The indictment brings some closure to Ewell's mother, Felicia McKinnon, who said she never expected to bury her 19-year-old son. He was on his way home from work on the night of Oct. 2 when gunshots were fired at the vehicle he was riding in on the 200 block of Clayton Street.

BACKGROUND:He accepted a ride home from work and was fatally hit by a bullet through the back window

Ewell was shot once in the lower back with a hollow tip bullet, according to his mother. He ran to the St. Francis Emergency Room just blocks away for help, but died at the hospital shortly after.

"I think about him every day, all day," McKinnon said. "That's painful."

She said the bullet wasn't meant for her son and that Mobley was looking for someone else, but mistakenly shot the wrong car. Charging documents in this case were not immediately available from the courts.

"I can't get him back," she said. "I can't see that smile or argue with him. ... I have to go to his grave and visit him there."

"I never in my life thought I would be the one to say that."

Ewell was working 12 hours a day at a New Castle tire shop, according to McKinnon, and would use his lunch break to work out. He did what he could to help his mother and siblings, while continually pushing himself.

Photos of Ewell that cover McKinnon's car and fill her bedroom are reminders of a life cut short. 

"That man took an innocent child that day," McKinnon said. "(Grayson) was happy, smiling. He thought he was coming home."

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Contact Brittany Horn at (302) 324-2771 or bhorn@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @brittanyhorn.