Week in Review : MAJOR EVENTS, IMAGES AND PEOPLE IN ORANGE COUNTY NEWS : MISCELLANY / NEWSMAKERS AND MILESTONES
Rodney Dwight Traylor, a former collegiate football player, was a loving brother and uncle who turned into a “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” after he began indulging in cocaine, said the brother who fatally shot him last week.
Reginald Frederick Traylor, however, was not charged with a crime. The district attorney’s office ruled that Traylor acted in self-defense when he shot his brother Rodney, 26, in the groin outside their Santa Ana home.
Traylor, 27, said he loved his brother but that Rodney’s personality had changed dramatically after he started dealing and using cocaine.
Last Monday, Traylor asked Rodney to move out of the house he shared with Traylor, his wife and their six children. When Rodney threatened him, Traylor fired, meaning to shoot him in the leg, he said. Reginald died almost 24 hours later from excessive bleeding.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael A. Jacobs said the killing was unintentional.
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