By Associated Press
Sheffield AL – Twin brothers and the teenage son of one of the men surrendered Tuesday on murder charges in the slaying of another teen whom authorities said was chased down in a crowded park and repeatedly stabbed.
Capt. Greg Ray said 35-year-old Derrell Wade Roland Sr.; his 16-year-old son, Derrell Wade Roland Jr.; and the elder Roland's twin, Terrell Ray Roland, were being held without bond at the Colbert County Jail.
The three, all from Sheffield, were named on warrants in the death of 18-year-old Tyrone Grant, who was killed in the parking lot of a park along the Tennessee River about 9 p.m. Sunday.
Authorities said more than 50 people were in the park when three men armed with a chain, a baseball bat and a knife attacked Grant.
Bystanders didn't have time to stop the assault it happened so quickly, Ray said, but they tried to help Grant afterward, took down a tag number and called police.
"They did what they could," he said.
Crystal Grant told the TimesDaily newspaper the men "slaughtered" her son.
"I want to know where the killers are at," she said. "I want police to get them. I want to see them punished. I'm not going to rest until I do."
Calls to a phone number listed for Derrell Roland Sr. went unanswered Tuesday.
Police have said the attack was in retaliation for something, but they have not provided details.
"Apparently, the victim and a friend had been in an altercation with the younger Roland Friday night," Ray said. "The incident apparently didn't amount to a lot because it was never reported to the police."
The newspaper quoted witnesses as saying the Rolands drove into the parking lot at the park and attacked Grant. The men chased Grant and a friend, who Ray said was hit by a chain but not badly hurt.
Witnesses said Grant was stabbed once in the parking lot and ran toward a playground. When he fell, witnesses said, the men caught up and stabbed him at least two more times.
Grant was scheduled to graduate from Sheffield High School last year but dropped out and earned his GED, according to school records. Coach Chris Tucker said Grant played football, basketball and ran track as a junior.
"He wanted to be out there competing, and he wanted to win," said Tucker.
Crystal Grant said Tyrone was the second-oldest of five children and served as an example for his younger siblings. She said the death of a child was the worst thing anyone could endure.
"They took my son. I'd rather be dead before any one of my kids," she said.
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Information from: TimesDaily, http://www.timesdaily.com/