Mother of Danville man killed in suspected gang shootout speaks out

15 suspected gang members have been indicted for murder, other crimes

DANVILLE, Va. – Theresa Davis struggles every day to cope with the loss of her son, Christopher Motley.

Motley was shot at the Southwyck Hills apartment complex on Aug. 20, 2016.

"My son was a good son; all my kids are," Davis said.

On Thursday, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies held a news conference to announce that 15 suspected gang members and three suspected gang associates have been indicted on numerous charges, including Motley's murder.

The U.S. district attorney for the western district of Virginia said the suspected gang members, eight Bloods and seven Crips, organized a shootout at the Southwyck Hills apartment complex.

He said Motley was an innocent bystander.

"Danville's gotten to the point it's scary," Davis said. "I used to walk to the store. I used to walk the track and exercise. I can't even do that anymore... because I'm afraid when I go I might not make it back. It's just a terrible thing when you live somewhere and you're scared to even go out your door because you're scared somebody's going to be around the corner and shoot you."

According to the indictments, the suspected gang members were members of local chapters of the Blood gang from New York and the Crip gang from Los Angeles.

Danville's new gang coordinator, Robert David Sr., said social media is a big reason why these gangs now have a presence in places like Danville.

"Young people look on social media and they'll see an image or they'll see someone and they may talk to them, or they may just adopt that culture," David said.

He hopes young people in Danville will be quote "shaken up" by the indictments and chose not to get involved in a gang.

"This is real. It's not a game. It's not something you can just see on television that just may happen and there's no impact behind it; there's no consequences," David said. "So I'm hoping that, with the (indictments) from yesterday, that the young people are shaken up."

Davis plans to go back to Roanoke on Tuesday as more of the suspected gang members make their initial court appearances.

"It's going to be harder and harder each and every day of my life," Davis said about her son's death, wiping away tears. "I'm going to remember each and every one of (the suspected gang members') faces."

She said she was a little skeptical that she would ever see justice for her son and can't thank law enforcement enough.

"I'm so happy and I'm grateful and I thank them so much for what they have done to bring these people in," Davis said.