2 suspects arrested in shooting

By Elliot Njus and Jenna Youngs

Published April 20, 2007

The driver of the car in which 17-year-old Tedarrian Robinson was shot Wednesday afternoon was arrested on suspicion of second-degree drug trafficking, Columbia police Capt. Brad Nelson said on Thursday.

Police said the vehicle was apparently en route to University Hospital when an off-duty officer from Columbia Police Department stopped it.

Robinson died after the occupants of two vehicles exchanged gunfire in what police described as a conflict between two groups of people who knew one other.

The officer pulled over 20-year-old Larry E. McBride, of 4301 Mesa Drive, on suspicion of speeding around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. McBride was traveling northbound on Providence Road near MU's Reactor Field parking lot after leaving the scene of the shooting near the intersection of Grindstone Parkway and Bearfield Road.

Nelson said there was no indication of gang involvement in the murder.

Early reports suggested that the shooting occurred on the MU campus and involved students, but MU police sent an alert to the MU community by e-mail which stated the shooting occurred off campus. Nelson said the police department fielded a number of questions from news outlets that believed the incident took place at MU.

Nelson said the department received calls from CNN and news outlets in Chicago and New York.

"We certainly had a lot of inquiries," he said.

McBride was arrested when officers found crack cocaine in his pocket, Nelson said.

"The amount and the way it was packaged would lead a reasonable person to concur that it was not for personal use," Nelson said.

When the officer stopped the vehicle, McBride got out and shouted that the passenger had been shot. The officer then drew his weapon, but soon determined the vehicle was involved in the shots-fired complaint. He called for an ambulance to transport Robinson to University Hospital, where Robinson died at 3:30 p.m. of a gunshot wound to the head, Nelson said.

Two suspects were arrested late Wednesday night on suspicion of second-degree murder following the afternoon shooting, Nelson said.

Some nearby schools were locked down in response to the incident. Nelson said the schools contacted the police department for guidance when administrators learned of the situation.

Twenty-year-old Lorenzo Ladiner, of 3579 Prescott Drive, and 17-year-old Kristopher M. Prince, of 5715 Canaveral Drive, are being held at the Boone County Jail on suspicion of second-degree murder. Bond was set at $750,000 for each. McBride also is being held at the jail with bond set at $200,000.

Police also received a warrant at 6:30 p.m. to search Ladiner's home on Prescott Drive for weapons related to the shooting. Ladiner's duplex is in an area that is heavily populated by college students.

As police searched the neighborhood, residents, a number of whom were MU students, gathered on front lawns and on the streets to watch the investigation.

Columbia resident Vicki Nicolas, who lives in the duplex next to Ladiner, said the gunshots woke her up from a nap she took while waiting for her son to get home from school.

"In the past, the most I've had to worry about is the occasional loud college party," she said. "Now I don't know if it's going to be safe to sleep here tonight."

Robinson's death was Columbia's first homicide of the year.

— Staff Writer Chris Dunn contributed to this report