November 28, 2005
Lee County -- Judy Randle and her son, Joey, a Deerfield Windsor student, were arguing in their home on Somerset Drive Monday morning when the teenager pulled a gun.
Investigators say 48-year-old Judy Randle, a single mother, confronted her teenage son last night when she caught him with some marijuana. Monday morning, another argument over a cell phone the teen wanted, ended in gunfire.
With a .22 caliber pistol, 16-year-old Joey Randle, a Deerfield sophomore, opened fire on his mother. Judy Randle was shot in the face and the arm. She got away and barricaded herself inside a bathroom and called 911.
Deputy Dennis Parker of the Lee County Sheriff's Office said "She had gotten into the bathroom to get away from him." While she was on the phone with 911, Judy Randle heard the shot that ended her son's life. A .22 caliber bullet to the head.
Parker said "When the officers arrived, they located him in the floor of the bedroom just outside the bathroom. He was apparently deceased."
Joey Randle was in the 10th grade at Deerfield Windsor. He's described as quiet and sometimes troubled. But no one could have predicted what happened in the Randle's home this morning.
Neighbor Ricky Hatcher said, "This is a nice quiet neighborhood here. Pretty unexpected."
Judy Randle owns Central Monitoring Company, which was named Small Business of the Year just last month. She underwent surgery after the shooting and is expected to survive.
Joey Randle's older brother Darrell was killed in a car wreck three years ago.
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