Radford El
A Greenwood man has pled guilty to murder in the fatal shooting of a teenage Clark-Pleasant student at a bus stop two years ago.
Tyrique Radford El, 20, pled guilty to the 2022 murder of 16-year-old Temario Stokes, Jr. Thursday in Johnson Superior Court 3. Radford El faces up to 55 years in prison, which is the presumptive sentence for murder, according to the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office.
“This case is tragedy compounded by tragedy,” said Lance Hamner, Johnson County prosecutor. “It’s a sad and unusual case in that both of these young men had clean records. No criminal history. They had a dispute that escalated to gunplay and one ended up dead. And two lives were destroyed. My heart goes out to the family of the victim, whose life was senselessly taken.”
Multiple witnesses said Stokes had been waiting at a bus stop in the area of Winterwood Drive and Providence Drive on Aug. 25, 2022, when someone in a black hoodie came up and shot him multiple times, with Greenwood Police believing the shooting to be targeted, the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office said.
Radford El was eventually apprehended by Greenwood Police and later confessed to shooting Stokes. After speaking with Stokes’ parents after the shooting, detectives learned that he, and his younger sibling, had an issue with another juvenile regarding a dirt bike that was stolen from Stokes a few weeks before the shooting, according to a probable cause affidavit.
When police spoke with Radford El, he allegedly said that he had been at a home on Declaration Drive — in the same neighborhood where the shooting took place — and was going to use a bench press in the backyard to workout. He then claimed he heard sirens, so he waited for the police to leave the area before he exited the home to use the bench press, according to the affidavit.
A few hours later, Radford El allegedly laughed to detectives and changed his story that he said he had not been at the home on Declaration Drive. He then said he would tell police everything about the “killing and stuff,” the affidavit says.
On the day of the shooting, Radford El was walking around in the neighborhood when he saw Stokes at a bus stop and “reacted too fast.” Radford El allegedly told police that he believed Stokes had a gun on him, the affidavit says.
“Nine times out of 10, he probably did just reach for his pocket. But I don’t know,” Radford El reportedly said. “But you can’t call that self-defense though, because he didn’t pull it.”
When asked to clarify these comments, Radford El told detectives that he doubted the teen had a gun with him, according to the affidavit.
Radford El allegedly told detectives that he “blanked for a second” before opening fire on Stokes. He also told detectives that he believed he committed the crime of manslaughter because he “shot him more times than necessary.” He then told police that he fired at Stokes, and fired more rounds as the teen turned to run away, according to the affidavit.
He said he believed that Stokes had caught him “slipping” and believed that the teen was going to do “the same thing he did last time” or worse, the affidavit said.
Radford El later told investigators that he left the weapon, a Taurus G2C 9 mm handgun, in a cornfield as he ran away from the shooting, the affidavit shows.
He also allegedly told investigators that he knew it was wrong to shoot Stokes but did so anyway. When asked by detectives how he felt about shooting the teen, Radford El reportedly expressed a wish to seek therapy, according to the affidavit.
Officials had said Stokes and Radford El lived one mile apart and described them as acquaintances. Stokes was new to the neighborhood and had only attended Clark-Pleasant Community Schools for four days prior to the shooting.
Radford El’s sentencing is set for Nov. 26.
