UNC football player killed at SC APA/AKA party

[hoosier]

Mon, Dec. 09, 2002

No suspects in death
Autopsy reveals UNC player was shot 3 times, with fatal wound to chest
By MONIQUE ANGLE and JOHN DRAKE
Staff Writer

Two days after University of North Carolina football player Carl Smalls was found alone and shot dead in a private nightclub, police are still searching for answers and witnesses.

Richland County sheriff's spokesman Joe Pellicci said police still have no suspects in the death of Smalls, 22.

Smalls, who is from Charleston and was on the USC football team before transferring early last year, was shot three times and died about 2:15 a.m. Saturday.

Police and USC officials are still trying to find out what happened Saturday morning at Voodoo's, a private club in a Garners Ferry plaza where the shooting occurred. Pellicci said the club was leased by members of USC's Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

On Sunday, the club was guarded by police tape as officers worked the scene.

An autopsy performed Saturday revealed that Smalls suffered a fatal wound to the chest. Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said toxicology reports won't be available for several weeks.

Smalls was found face down in the hallway near the club's exit. The club, which is only open for private parties, was empty when police arrived.

Reached by phone, USC Alpha Phi Alpha chapter president Tony Styles declined to comment on the party, and referred questions to chapter adviser Arthur Pinkney. Pinkney did not return calls made to his home Sunday.

Ashley Thompson, who is listed as public relations director on Alpha Kappa Alpha's Web site, said the sorority did not host the party.

But USC spokesman Russ McKinney said the party was organized by fraternity and sorority members. It was not an official campus event, which meant that university officials were not informed of it beforehand.

Smalls, who is not a member of the fraternity, went to the party with his girlfriend. According to the Raleigh News & Observer, Smalls' girlfriend left the party early while Smalls decided to stay.

Richland County sheriff's deputies were called to the club about an hour before the shooting. Although a fight was reported to police, deputies found no problems when they arrived. Deputies found Smalls when they returned to the scene after a second call.

The club, in the Columbia East shopping plaza on Garners Ferry Road, was the scene of an earlier shooting.

A woman was shot at least once under her left arm in November 2001. The club was full of people when the shooting occurred.

Smalls, a defensive tackle, played in seven games for UNC, but was suspended for the final two games for disciplinary reasons.

Family members have not made funeral plans yet.