WILD SHOOTOUT LEAVES 1 DEAD, 1 WOUNDED IN FORT WORTH

FORT WORTH -- A convoluted feud over a purported drug debt led to an
attempted slaughter at a Polytechnic Heights neighborhood home early
yesterday and an ambush on those
gunmen -- leaving one man dead, one injured and one jailed, police
said.

The 1 a.m. shooting in the 2900 block of Fitzhugh Avenue sent bullets
flying into neighboring homes, prompting police to block off the
street while crime scene officers processed the scene.

Officials identified the man killed by a gunshot wound in his back as
Jeffery Strahan, 22, of Fort Worth, who was found dead in the driveway
of a home two doors down from the house targeted by several gunmen.
Derrick Marsh, 23, was shot in the hip. Police found him at John Peter
Smith Hospital, where he was in stable condition.

Jailed on investigation of deadly conduct in the shooting is Antonio
Nelson, 22, whose home on Fitzhugh was the target of gunmen, Homicide
Detective Curt Brannan said. Nelson's bail was set at $25,000. "It may
be determined that he [Nelson] was acting in self-defense, but he did
so with greatly excessive force and the endangerment of the
neighborhood," he said.

The story apparently began on Christmas, when Strahan was driving a
car in which Nelson was a passenger. Strahan wrecked the car and ran
away, leaving Nelson and a bag of drugs in the car, Brannan said.

Nelson was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled
substance, a charge that is still pending, records show. He posted
$8,000 bail and was released from Tarrant County Jail.

During the past few days, witnesses told Brannan, Strahan had been
coming by Nelson's home, where he lives with his fiancee and their
1-year-old son, demanding payment of a drug debt, Brannan said. It is
not clear whether the debt was related to the car accident and
Nelson's arrest.

But the feud escalated, and Strahan -- always accompanied by at least
one other man -- set a Monday midnight deadline to be paid, Brannan
said.

Late Monday, before midnight, Strahan and Nelson again argued. When
Strahan drove off, followed by a second car, Nelson changed into black
clothing, armed himself with an assault rifle and 140 rounds of
ammunition, walked across the street and hid in a neighbor's yard,
Brannan said, citing statements from witnesses and Nelson.

Soon, people returned to Nelson's house on foot, Brannan
said.

"There are five people in [Nelson's] house, and they see coming
through the window a red laser beam [from a gun sight] and they hit
the floor. Then multiple shots come through the house," he said.

Nelson told police that when Strahan and the other men began firing,
he opened fire on them, shooting wildly in the dark and striking other
homes "up and down the block," Brannan said.

Police found Strahan two doors down, with two weapons close to him,
including one equipped with a laser sight, a police report said.

Marsh, whose role is as yet undetermined, fled to a nearby address,
from where he was taken to the hospital.

Nelson went back to his house and waited for police, and then told
them he was defending his family.