Man killed while trying to stop rape

Posted in Related Deaths:

In essence, the offender (Lema) shot and killed an innocent person (Zephyrine).

2-28-2012 Georgia:

POOLER, GA (WTOC) - A man is dead and one of his co-workers is being charged in connection with his death.

Police said that on Friday afternoon, inside the OA Logistics warehouse on Clyde Alexander Way, Christopher Lema, 23, fatally shot 28-year-old Nickifor Zephyrine.

According to the police report, Lema was trying to rape a female employee when Zephyrine interceded, causing Lema to shoot him.

A former employee of OA Logistics, who doesn't want to be identified, said that according to another source: "[Zephyrine] was trying to get [Lema] off the girl and [Lema] turned around and punched [Zephyrine] in the eye and [Lema] just pulled a gun out and shot [Zephyrine] in the head."

Police said Lema then stripped naked and ran toward the woods in an attempt to flee.

"They were able to apprehend him and he was identified as the suspect," said Pooler Police Chief Mark Revenew.

This isn't Lema's first encounter with the law. According to the Georgia Department of Corrections website, Lema is currently on parole after being released from prison in June 2010. He served nearly a year behind bars on cocaine and marijuana charges.

"If they would have done a thorough background check on everybody, this would have never happened," said the former employee.

But OA Logistics President Rodney Dickey said they did a background check on Lema. However, Lema gave the employer a false name along with a matching Social Security number, according to the police report. That identity came back clean.

Counselors will be at OA Logistics all week long to help employees cope with what happened. ..Source.. by WTOC.com

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Worker dies after Pooler warehouse shooting

2-25-2012:

A 28-year-old forklift driver at a Pooler warehouse was killed Friday after being shot in the head by a co-worker, police say.

Nickifor Zephyrine of Savannah died at Memorial University Medical Center Friday evening following the 3 p.m. shooting at OA Logistics on Clyde Alexander Lane near Dean Forest Road.

Christopher Jesse Lema, a 23-year-old who also lives in Savannah, has been charged with homicide, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, sexual assault and simple assault.

Pooler police Chief Mark Revenew said it all started when Lema tried to sexually assault a female employee in a small office in the middle of the warehouse. Investigators still are working to determine whether Zephyrine tried to intervene in the attempted assault or just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but they say Lema shot Zephyrine outside the office.

Dozens of employees were in the warehouse at the time and say they heard a loud bang but thought a pallet of boxes had dropped to the floor until they heard screaming. When they realized a gunman was in the warehouse, they rushed for the doors.

Workers said that after the shooting, they saw Lema strip off his clothes, drop his gun and run naked across the parking lot toward a nearby wooded area. He was caught by police within minutes.

Friends and co-workers described Zephyrine as an outgoing, good-natured joker. He was single, they said, with no children and lots of friends.

Chris Goldwire, a co-worker and longtime friend, said Zephyrine was the kind of guy who could turn a bad house party around.

“He’d walk in and be like ‘What’s up everybody?’” Goldwire said. “It’s too much to even wrap my head around.”

Fernando Acevedo worked with Zephyrine, who lived on San Fernando Boulevard on Savannah’s southisde, and said he’s known him since the two went to Windsor Forest High School. Zephyrine was the kind of buddy you could rely on, Acevedo said.

“He’s my all-around best friend. He’s a hard-working man.”

Zephyrine, “Nik” to his friends, was born in Panama, friends said, and returned to work at OA Logistics about a month ago after a trip to his native country.

Co-workers described Lema, the alleged shooter, as a foil to Zephyrine’s exuberance.

Truit Thompson, 24, started at OA Logistics a week ago and said Lema never really talked to anyone but him. Thompson worked with Lema unloading boxes and said Lema respected him for keeping his head down, working hard and sticking to himself. Lema talked about staying out of trouble, Thompson said, and saving up enough money to move out of his mother’s house.

According to the Georgia Department of Corrections website, Lema spent nearly a year in prison on cocaine and marijuana charges before being released in June.

“It seemed like he was trying to do something better. It seemed like he was trying to do something good for himself,” Thompson said. “... There’s no excuse for what he did.” ..Source.. by Constance Cooper