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A Johnston County deputy who fatally shot a Garner man in January was legally “justified” and won’t be charged after authorities determined the man posed an “imminent threat,” the Johnston County district attorney said Friday.
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District Attorney Jason Waller released a review of the Jan. 25 shooting of Antony Jerome Richardson, 62, following an investigation by the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation.
The shooting came after Richardson’s wife, Dorleen, told dispatchers her husband was having a mental health episode and had her handgun in his pocket. Antony Richardson had been in the garage of his Garner home for two days when she called 911 the morning of Jan. 25, call records obtained by The News & Observer show.
After reviewing the SBI’s investigation, Waller concluded that when deputies arrived, Richardson refused to put his gun down, threatened to “kill somebody” and approached deputies before former deputy Derek Leagan fired multiple shots.
“The responding deputies were informed that the call involved a subject suffering from [PTSD],” the District Attorney’s Office wrote in its statement. “However, Richardson’s mental health issues did not eliminate the imminent threat of danger to others that was created by his possession and use of a firearm.”
Dorleen Richardson called 911 at 11:21 a.m. on Jan. 25, call records show. She told dispatchers Antony Richardson was playing very loud music claiming he was praising God and arguing with their daughter. A loud bang could be heard on the call. Dorleen Richardson told dispatchers Antony Richardson had fired a shot from her Taurus 9mm handgun, but she could not tell where the shot was fired.
Antony Richardson had suffered previous mental health episodes — but not as bad as what she witnessed that day, Dorleen Richardson told dispatchers. She said her husband told her he would kill himself if she called police, but she didn’t know what else to do.
Three deputies arrived at the Richardsons’ home at 11:40 a.m., the District Attorney’s Office wrote. Dorleen Richardson opened the garage door. Antony Richardson was sitting in the garage holding a handgun. The deputies took cover positions, and Leagan ordered Richardson “to put the gun down more than 40 times over a period of more than two minutes.”
Richardson never put his gun down, the District Attorney’s Office wrote. He made threats to harm himself or others, shouting that he was “going to kill somebody.”
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Richardson took the gun from his side or back to his front, after which Leagan began firing shots, the District Attorney’s Office wrote. Richardson still had the gun in hand and began walking toward Leagan. Leagan fired a final shot, and Richardson died at the scene.
“The evidence shows that both Leagan and the deputy closest to Richardson reasonably believed the firearm was still in Richardson’s hand as they continued to order him to put the gun down as he walked towards Leagan in a threatening manner,” the District Attorney’s Office wrote.
The SBI investigation also found in the days before deputies killed him, that Richardson had made threats to harm himself and threatened someone he believed had wronged a family member, raising concerns among Richardson’s family, the District Attorney’s Office wrote. Richardson took his wife’s handgun from her closet without her knowledge.
Waller reviewed body camera footage, audio evidence, witness statements, physical evidence and the circumstances known to the responding deputies at the time of the encounter before concluding the use of force against Richardson was justified, the District Attorney’s Office wrote.
In the days after Antony Richardson was killed, Dorleen Richardson told WRAL and CBS 17 she thought deputies would handle the situation differently because he was in the throes of a mental health episode.
Richardson told WRAL she thought deputies would handcuff her husband and take him to a hospital. Deputies told her to open the garage door remotely before confronting Antony Richardson and ultimately killing him.
Antony Richardson was an Army Special Forces medic and war veteran who suffered from PTSD, Dorleen Richardson told CBS 17.
“There has to be a change with how PTSD and mental issues are handled, because I do not think that because a person has mental issues, PTSD, bipolar, anything that’s going on with them, that they should be killed,” Dorleen Richardson said in January. “That should be the last, last thing that happened to them.”
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This story was originally published September 18, 2026 at 11:47 AM.