KNIGHTDALE, NC — Charlene Lucas and Derrick Natson had dreams of getting married and settling down in Knightdale after moving to the area two years ago to escape the crime and pace of New Jersey.
Those dreams were shattered Saturday afternoon when Natson was shot and killed.
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“I don’t know what happened yesterday, he said he was going to the store and he just never came back,” said Lucas. “We didn’t come down here for this; we came down here for a better life, a calmer life.”
Natson was shot and killed in the driveway of a home in the 1200 block of Rutledge Landing Drive. Deputies say the shooter, 36-year-old Neal Algernon Curtis Dick, lives at the home and has been charged with murder in the shooting.
The sheriff says the incident began when three men, including Natson, got out of a dark-colored Ford pickup truck in front of the home.
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There was an argument and Natson was shot and killed in the driveway. The shooter called 9-1-1 and stayed at the scene until deputies arrived, authorities say.
Family and friends say Natson and Dick knew each other and they can’t believe how something like this happened.
“I didn’t understand it because that was his friend, he used to fix my car,” said Lucas. “I just don’t get it, I don’t understand it, nobody has any answers.”
Family and friends say they’ll remember Natson for being selfless and always willing to help. They say the kids of the neighborhood clung to him and called him “Uncle Rock.”
“If you needed something, he’d help you, if you had a flat tire, he’d do it for free, he was just that type of person,” said Anthony Jones who has known Natson since he moved in across the street two years ago.
Funeral arrangements have not yet been set for Natson, but the family is planning on holding the services in New Jersey where all of Natson’s family lives.
Dick is being held at the Wake County Detention Center on no bond. He’s expected to be in court as soon as Monday morning.
