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Beverly was shot by Reed about 12:45 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 5, at the Speedway gas station in the 1300 block of East Main Street, according to a grand jury findings document dated Monday, Feb. 26, and obtained by the Springfield News-Sun.
Officers found him inside, near the cashier’s counter, according to a Springfield police report. He was laying on his back with a gunshot wound to his upper right shoulder and another on his back right side. Beverly was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Reed “was not at fault for creating the situation which led to the use of deadly force,” the grand jury findings say.
The jurors also found he was neither an aggressor nor the initiator, the document says, and he possesses a valid concealed carry weapon license.
“Timothy Reed had a bona fide and reasonable belief that he was in immediate danger of death or serious bodily harm, and that the use of deadly force was necessary to escape that danger,” the grand jury findings say.
The shooting victim’s mother, Mandy Cole, said learning Reed won’t be charged is like hearing that her son is dead all over again. She declined further comment.
Reed spoke to the News-Sun on Tuesday about the night of the shooting.
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He received a call from Beverly’s girlfriend, according to the grand jury findings. She told him she needed a ride to meet her uncle and he agreed to pick her and her friend up and take them to the Speedway.
He said he didn’t know at the time that Beverly and her were involved.
The girlfriend allegedly had arranged to buy Xanax from a man there, the grand jury findings say. That man and Beverly approached Reed’s car, the court documents say.
“Moments after arriving, two men had approached my car. One began to attack,” Reed said. “That’s when I preceded to defend myself.”
Beverly, without provocation, reached into the car and struck Reed, the grand jury findings say.
Reed was dazed, he said, and fired his gun twice because he believed he was in imminent danger.
Reed still has a knot on the right side of his face from his injuries that night, he said.
While he’s relieved to not be facing prison, Reed said he also understands what Beverly’s family is going through because he lost his 1-year-old son a few years ago. Reed wants the family to know he’s sorry.
“I know the feeling and never would I want to wish death on anyone or see anyone die or see anyone grieve,” Reed said.
He has received several threats since the shooting, he said, and wears a bullet-proof vest. He hopes that will end now and the violence will stop.
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