Individual Details
Justin Dillon ERVIN
(12 Jul 1985 - 10 Dec 2005)
2 killed in random Charlotte shootings
CMPD's homicide probes at 82 after deaths in assault, robbery
MELISSA MANWARE
mmanware@charlotteobserver.com
Two Charlotte men were killed early Saturday in what police say appear to be two unrelated and random slayings.
In the first case, 20-year-old Justin Dillon Ervin was shot at 12:45 a.m. when he came out of a northwest Charlotte convenience store and found three men assaulting his girlfriend.
Then, just before 3 a.m., Salvador Abraham Toruno-Rivera, 36, was shot during a robbery outside the northeast Charlotte apartment where he lived.
Late Saturday, police had not made arrests in either case.
The killings bring the number of homicides investigated by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police this year to 82. That's 37 percent more than in all of last year.
Random killings are unusual in Charlotte. Detectives determined only six of last year's 60 homicide victims had no previous ties to their killer.
Capt. Sean Mulhall told the Observer detectives do not believe either of Saturday's victims knew his killer.
Police said Ervin and his girlfriend had gone into the Sam's Mart on Glenwood Drive, near Interstate 85, for cigarettes. Ervin went in, while his 17-year-old girlfriend sat in the car.
The girlfriend, who asked that her name not be used, told the Observer one of three men fired a gun as they walked up to the car. They pulled open her door and began to attack her. She said they were trying to pull down her underwear when her boyfriend came out of the store. She thinks they were going to rape her.
"Justin was just trying to get them off of me," she said. "He didn't have to shoot him.... They had already pistol-whipped him. He wasn't trying to fight back."
The girlfriend said she got out of the car after one of the men shot her boyfriend twice, then they got in and sped away. They crashed the car three houses from the store and ran, she said. The girlfriend said she and her boyfriend were familiar with the area and know a lot of people there.
Ervin, who grew up in Charlotte, died at Carolinas Medical Center. The couple had dated 21/2 years and planned to marry, his girlfriend said.
In the apartment robbery, police said, Toruno-Rivera and his roommate were walking home from a convenience store when they were approached by a man with a gun. The man robbed them outside their apartment on Hilo Drive off North Tryon Street. He then shot Toruno-Rivera, police said.
The roommate fought the gunman and during the fight the gunman's weapon misfired, Mulhall said. The gunman then ran.
CMPD's homicide probes at 82 after deaths in assault, robbery
MELISSA MANWARE
mmanware@charlotteobserver.com
Two Charlotte men were killed early Saturday in what police say appear to be two unrelated and random slayings.
In the first case, 20-year-old Justin Dillon Ervin was shot at 12:45 a.m. when he came out of a northwest Charlotte convenience store and found three men assaulting his girlfriend.
Then, just before 3 a.m., Salvador Abraham Toruno-Rivera, 36, was shot during a robbery outside the northeast Charlotte apartment where he lived.
Late Saturday, police had not made arrests in either case.
The killings bring the number of homicides investigated by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police this year to 82. That's 37 percent more than in all of last year.
Random killings are unusual in Charlotte. Detectives determined only six of last year's 60 homicide victims had no previous ties to their killer.
Capt. Sean Mulhall told the Observer detectives do not believe either of Saturday's victims knew his killer.
Police said Ervin and his girlfriend had gone into the Sam's Mart on Glenwood Drive, near Interstate 85, for cigarettes. Ervin went in, while his 17-year-old girlfriend sat in the car.
The girlfriend, who asked that her name not be used, told the Observer one of three men fired a gun as they walked up to the car. They pulled open her door and began to attack her. She said they were trying to pull down her underwear when her boyfriend came out of the store. She thinks they were going to rape her.
"Justin was just trying to get them off of me," she said. "He didn't have to shoot him.... They had already pistol-whipped him. He wasn't trying to fight back."
The girlfriend said she got out of the car after one of the men shot her boyfriend twice, then they got in and sped away. They crashed the car three houses from the store and ran, she said. The girlfriend said she and her boyfriend were familiar with the area and know a lot of people there.
Ervin, who grew up in Charlotte, died at Carolinas Medical Center. The couple had dated 21/2 years and planned to marry, his girlfriend said.
In the apartment robbery, police said, Toruno-Rivera and his roommate were walking home from a convenience store when they were approached by a man with a gun. The man robbed them outside their apartment on Hilo Drive off North Tryon Street. He then shot Toruno-Rivera, police said.
The roommate fought the gunman and during the fight the gunman's weapon misfired, Mulhall said. The gunman then ran.
Events
| Birth | 12 Jul 1985 | Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, NC | |||
| Death | 10 Dec 2005 | Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, NC |  |  | |
| Burial | Trinity United Methodist Church Cemetery, Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, NC | |
Families
| Father | Living |
| Mother | Edith Diane FURR (1945 - 2009) |
Notes
Death
Justin Dillon Ervin, 20, of Charlotte, went home to be with the Lord on Saturday, December 10, 2005. Born July 12, 1985 in Charlotte, Justin had attended West Mecklenburg High School. He left this earth an honorable man, protecting the one he loved. Justin was an outgoing person, who never met a stranger. He leaves behind family and friends, especially one special love, Shasta. Survivors include his mother, Diane Furr; brothers, Daly Furr and Matt Garner; sisters, Bonnie Rataj, Angelia Arp and Trill McGee; and grandparents, Bobby and Rachel Davis. The family will receive friends at Carolina Funeral Service & Cremation Center, 5505 Monroe Road, Charlotte on Thursday, December 15, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. A graveside service will be held on Friday, December 16, at 2:00 PM at Trinity United Methodist Church Cemetery, Beatties Ford Road; Carolina Funeral & Cremation Center is in charge.The Charlotte Observer, December 13, 2005
Endnotes
1. The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, North Carolina, December 13, 2005.
2. findagrave.com.