Man sentenced for deadly 2012 shooting

A Shelby man will spend 13 to 16 years behind bars for shooting and killing another man during a January 2012 dispute. After four hours of deliberation this week, a jury found Terrence Montreal Norris, of Shelby, guilty of second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon, according to the Cleveland County District Attorney’s Office.

Late on a Friday night in January 2012, Norris and Kelton Jerrard Ross encountered each other at a house at 210 Morrison St. in Shelby, said Sally Kirby-Turner, assistant district attorney. People were drinking and using crack cocaine at the house that night, Kirby-Turner said. Neither Norris nor Ross, who police said were acquaintances, lived at the Morrison Street address. But Norris was selling cocaine to the group that was at the home, Kirby-Turner said.

“Norris and Ross were in an argument about money,” she said. “Norris had a gun concealed in the pocket of his jacket. He shot KJ Ross twice in the chest and shot at him a third time, and that hit the wall in the living room of the house.” Kirby-Turner said four witnesses testified during the trial that Ross didn’t have a weapon in his hands when he was shot.

Norris testified that he was holding a candlestick in his hand and was lunging at Ross, Kirby-Turner said. Norris claimed self-defense, she said. At the time of the shooting, officers responded to the Morrison St. home at 11:30 p.m. Police found Ross inside the house with multiple gunshot wounds, according to previous Star reports. Police said Ross was transported to Cleveland Regional Medical Center and was later pronounced dead.

The jury delivered a guilty verdict for Norris this week in the death of Ross. “We were grateful the jury returned the verdict,” Kirby-Turner said. “That certainly gave the family a sense that justice had been done. That gave them closure, and they were able to move on from a senseless killing in this case.”

After the shooting, Shelby Police Capt. Rick Stafford said it wasn’t the first time police had dealings with Norris. Norris was convicted in 2009 of sell and possession with intent to sell and deliver cocaine, Kirby-Turner said. 

Ross’ death marked the end of a quiet period for murders in Shelby. At the time of the shooting, January 2012, it was the first murder in 19 months in the city, dating back to June 2010, according to previous Star reports.

Reach Matthew Tessnear at 704-669-3331, at mtessnear@shelbystar.com or on Twitter @MatthewTessnear.