SerpApi.Org
A Tennessee mother shot and killed a man she found hiding under her 13-year-old daughter’s bed, according to cops — and now she’s facing first-degree murder charges.
Kendra Scott was arrested after police found a 20-year-old man dead from a gunshot wound in the back of his head outside her Memphis home just before 2 a.m. Thursday, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by The Post.
Her lawyer called the situation, “the worst nightmare of any parent of a 13-year-old girl.”
The 36-year-old mother told officers she came home and “saw a dude under my kids’ bed.”
“And I did what I had to do,” she said, per the affidavit.
The deadly incident unfolded after Scott’s teen daughter told cops she invited the man, Rodderius Morton, to the family’s home at around 1 a.m., according to the court document and Scott’s lawyer.
STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE LATEST NEWS BY SUBSCRIBING TO MORNING REPORT NEWSLETTER
An enraged Scott started pounding on the front door and bellowing, “Who’s at my house?!” when she arrived home around 30 minutes later, the affidavit states.
Her unidentified daughter grew terrified when she noticed her mom was allegedly holding a gun.
Scott had said that if she “sees a boy in my house I will put a hole in his ass,” the daughter later told cops, according to the affidavit.
The teen eventually let her mother inside, where Scott allegedly found Morton hiding under her bed, the court doc states.
“Get out of my house bitch,” she allegedly screamed, and followed Morton out the front door.
That’s when her daughter and a neighbor allegedly heard a gunshot ring out.
The neighbor later told police he came outside of his house and saw Scott, still holding the gun, standing by the man’s body – while admitting, “I shot him, I shot him,” according to the affidavit.
Officers recovered one spent shell casing on the front porch, as well as a Smith & Wesson black handgun, the document states.
Scott was taken to the police department for questioning, then charged with first degree murder and employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, according to the Memphis Police Department.
She was reportedly being held behind bars ahead of her Monday morning court appearance, when a judge will set her bond, her lawyer, Blake Ballin, told The Post.
“This incident started with the worst nightmare of any parent of a 13-year-old girl,” Ballin said.
“Predictably, it ended in tragedy. One of the key questions in this case will be whether anyone could act rationally in this circumstance,” the attorney added.
Retired law enforcement officer and firearm self-defense trainer Buddy Smith, however, told Action News 5 that the known circumstances of Scott’s case would not qualify under Tennessee’s Castle Doctrine, which protects someone from criminal prosecution or civil liability if they use reasonable – including deadly – force against an intruder.
The legislation means “you’re allowed to protect the people in your residence when someone breaks in to commit a violent felony against you or someone in your house,” Smith told the outlet.
But in Scott’s case, “the affidavit does not allege that [Morton] threatened the mother or anyone else at that time,” he explained. “Those alleged facts will likely be important issues for the court, and ultimately the jury.”
The case has drawn fierce debate online – where some people believe the alleged shooting was justified, and others think the mom went too far.
Even Scott’s neighbors were divided on the issue.
“She seemed like a real nice lady. All I can say is, that hurts that someone was in there with one of her little girls,” Gloria Milon, who lives near Scott in the Walker Homes neighborhood of Memphis, told Action News 5.
Another nearby resident said the mom should have simply called 911.
“If it would’ve been me in that situation…I would’ve called the police and had them sitting at my house when I got there,” the unidentified neighbor told the outlet.
“Therefore, you take him out, take him on to jail,” he added.
