3 months later, a mother still grieves
Sitting at her kitchen table, Priscilla Simmons of Charleston struggled with her feelings as she discussed her son's murder.
Her mood was joyful when she remembered how Jermel Tyler Brown touched her life. Immeasurable grief filled her when she considered the violence that took him away.
Overcome by emotion, she buried her face in her hands. Two programs were nearby, one from Jermel's funeral, the other from a support group for a survivors of a homicide.
A candle burning in Jermel's memory flickered in the den.
Brown's killing is yet another tragic example of why state lawmakers need to reform South Carolina's broken criminal justice system to get tougher on habitual criminals, Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen said recently.
A suspect in Jermel Brown's death, Rafael Sinclair Horlbeck, 22, recently escaped a murder charge in another deadly shooting after two key witnesses bailed out on prosecutors in March, forcing the state to dismiss the charges, authorities said.
"How many more Jermel Browns must die before our citizens rise up and demand that state lawmakers make changes to our criminal justice system?" Mullen asked.
Brown's shooting death sent a shockwave through the housing project where he lived.
Neighbors grieved with his mother. "Jermel kept a smile on his face. He was a very outgoing young fellow," Eloise Pearsey said.
"Their momma is a good-hearted woman. What happened was very tragic. We're still paying for it in the projects. It's a child gone for God knows what reason," she said.
Eric Hall, 17, used to play basketball with Jermel, who would have celebrated his 16th birthday last Wednesday. "It just was a catastrophe that they killed him," Hall said.
Jermel was a happy kid who entertained his mother with jokes. When she last saw him, he said that he was going to the store to buy a snack. He never returned.
She learned what happened to him when an official with the Charleston County Coroner's Office informed her that Jermel had been found dead from multiple gunshot wounds beneath an Interstate 26 overpass near Huger Street.
Three months after the killing, Simmons relies on family, friends and her faith to cope with her loss. She praised the work of the North Charleston and Charleston police departments in apprehending two suspects in the killing of her son.
She goes to grief counseling sessions on Thursdays. She will make sure justice is done for her son through the court system. "God is good. You can't question the Lord. All things happen for a reason. Eventually you will find out. When the Lord is ready for you to know, it will come to you," she said.
Brown is buried at Monrovia Cemetery, where a star-shaped balloon tethered to his grave served as a reminder of his birthday. At sunset, family friends Arnold Bellinger and Mike Hayes and Brown's half-brother, Rashad Simmons, gathered at the cemetery in Jermel's honor.
"I'm holding up all right," said Simmons, 19.
"It leaves us feeling sad. Fifteen years old. Just like an ordinary kid. Never played with any guns, nothing," said Hayes, 27. Hayes said more violence is not the answer to Brown's murder.
"Jermel doesn't want retaliation. He wants us to live on and do positive things," he said.
"I would never have expected anything like that to happen to a child," said Bellinger, 30.
Rafael Horlbeck and Leon Willis Horlbeck, 32, allegedly killed Jermel on June 30, Charleston police said.
Arrest affidavits state that Rafael Horlbeck had been after the victim's twin brother, Jermaine, for a $200 drug debt. Jermaine Brown told police that Horlbeck gave him a week to pay up. The bill came due about the time Jermel Brown was killed, affidavits state.
"Jermel didn't have anything to do with what was going on," his mother said.
The twins had never been in serious trouble, she said, and she knew nothing of Jermaine Brown's $200 debt to Horlbeck. "Parents are always the last to know," she said.
The Horlbeck brothers had been in trouble with the law for years. Rafael Horlbeck has been accused of shooting or beating six people over the past four years, two of whom have died.
Charleston officials call the unemployed young man a "drug-dealing hoodlum" and a predator, yet he has never spent a day in a state prison.
His older brother Leon, a dishwasher, is even more prolific. He has been charged with 77 crimes over 15 years, making him a regular guest at county jails. But despite this criminal tally he has spent fewer than four years in state prisons.
Simmons said the tragedy has left her with a new appreciation for the fragility of life. "Live every day like it's your last. Don't take anything for granted," she said.
She takes comfort in her memories of Jermel, who delighted in imitating his mother. "Jermel was a fun-loving person. He used to always keep you laughing. If you had a bad day, he made you laugh," she said.
He loved computers, sports and TV. He was a good student at Daniel Jenkins Academy in North Charleston.
She has three white lily plants on her porch near East Bay Street. They are lush and green. She tends them affectionately, calling them "Jermel."
She doesn't understand the violence that claimed her son, but called for an end to it. "Do not take justice in your own hands. Let the police handle every situation."
Glenn Smith of The Post and Courier contributed to this report.Reach Prentiss Findlay at 937-5711 or pfindlay@postand courier.com.
