Christen…the “accusations” are coming because of the way you are portraying yourself and the COMPANY YOU KEEP.  No one’s judging you unfairly, you’re putting it out there…You are portraying yourself as an authority on this case, so that infers are you “inside”...

Don’t blame others for seeing what they see..Place the blame fairly on your own shoulders for putting yourself where they can see it..

My mother raised me right as well. I’m not with the “gansta” group as you call it. I make decisions for me and no one else. I know right from wrong. And I have big plans once I graduate: Air Force, College, maybe continue on with softball. But the accusations people post on here about me, and these situations are false.

Here We Go Again put it perfectly and very succinctly. 

With age (and with good upbringing) comes discretion, Christen..I don’t put my name on here because it could affect my career.  Which I earned by going to college, then to graduate school.  My parents always told me “birds of a feather flock together” and “once you lose your good name it’s gone.”  They also made sure we didn’t hang around with people who were going to pull us down or reflect badly upon us…

You’re known by the company you keep.  If you keep that company you are currently keeping you ARE putting yourself in harm’s way.  There is no way, if a situation erupts because of the drugs, etc. that you can say that you get away from it..

Sometimes us “older folks” do know what we’re talking about..We’ve been there, done that, seen it..Youth is wasted on the young. 

Just get away from the Gangsta Group, find yourself a better class of friends and get on with your life.  Finish school, go to college, make a better life for yourself.  You don’t need to run with a pack to be a person…Be your OWN person..

I understand and have accepted that they make poor decisions. And you’re absolutely right about getting better friends. I’ve been dealing with bad friend choices for a while, and I know that in the end, these friends won’t help me get anywhere. But I wouldn’t put myself in a situation where something like this would happen. Those are things I’ve chosen not to get involved with. But those two were still friends with me. They knew I wasn’t involved in that, and they had no problem with it. They didn’t bring their situations around me. We all just had fun, basketball games with my mom, working out, the pool, things like that.

Christen…(“You (older generation) should be setting the example for us!:)

Some are trying if you (and others your age) choose to listen.  I constantly hear, both in this case and in the Tahliek case, people on both sides explaining how sweet and kind each person involved were/are. Of course your friend is sweet and kind to you, but it makes no difference if your friend’s life choices are putting at risk their success, or worse, the lives of themselves and those around them.  The connection between Tahliek and Rashad are in the choices they made; to be involved in drugs, those they chose to hang with, and their willingness to be placed in confrontational situations whether by their own choice or by the choice of their “friends”. 

You said you were friends with both Tahliek and Rashad. Look at it this way: what if, on the day Tahliek was shot, you had been in the car sitting by him or Courtney? You could have been hurt or killed along with your “friends”.  Worse still, what if Rashad’s child had been in that house and DJ had brought a gun instead of a knife? What if DJ started popping of shots? Could anyone have garanteed the safety of his child in that situation? We’ve heard that someone shot at DJ as he ran into the woods, how could that person have known for sure that a neighborhood kid wasn’t playing in those woods? What if you had been in the room when Rashad was killed, could you have garanteed the safety of yourself?

There are two well know sayings that you should keep in mind: “choose your friends wisely” and “you are known by the company you keep”.

My suggestion to you, (I’m assuming you are soon to be out of high school) get yourself some new friends, finish your education, and begin to make choices that will further your own success in life. If you choose to take this advice, (take it from someone who has been there), these “friends” will lose their importance in your life and you will one day look back and be grateful that you made the choice to remove yourself from the situations that these “friends” may have one day put you in.

Oh yeah? Well my grades, teachers, coaches, and organizations I’ve volunteered for think otherwise. But then again, who are you to judge me? You have NO power to do so. My one and only Savior is the only one who has that power. So if criticizing me helps you sleep at night, and make you think you’re some type of better person, then so be it. But you can sit at your keyboard and type all day long anonymously, but you can’t be real and put your name on here. That’s how I know you’re truly a nobody. Are you afraid that you’re really a lower person than you’re portraying yourself to be? I’d say that’s obvious. You have a nice life, whoever you are. Have fun hiding behind your keyboard.

Christen…it’s not slander if it’s true…

Okay, so I’m the “biggest idiot” on here, and I need to go “screw another black guy.” Not only is that offending me, but the african american race as well. And the first comment I ever posted simply said, “Rest in peace to my good friend.” People on here came back saying they’re glad joey and dj got rid of two thugs, or bringing up the Tahliek case when it was not needed. It’s so amazing when the older generation talks about the teens in Powhatan and how immature and idiotic we are. Read these posts by these grown men and women. They’re racist thoughts and opinions, (which should be kept to their self), and comments calling people names. You (older generation) should be setting the example for us! So do not degrade us when you are older than us, but still act like immature kids. These subjects have gone way off topic. Both of these (now dead) teens were my friends. Say what you want, but if people were talking about your children, the way everyone on here is talking about Shad and Liek, you rednecks out here would be ready to get a shot gun and go after someone. Whoever has anything else to say with MY name on it, in a negative way, the slander charge will be your next friend :)

This is getting tiresome..Give it a rest..If you live by the sword, you die by it…All you girls who think it’s “cool” to be hanging out with wanna-be gangstas are just ruining your name and your lives..Don’t you realize how they talk about you behind your back??  They call you trash, and to be honest, they aren’t far off.  Think about your future..What respectable man is going to want a cast-off and Second Hand Jane from some drugged-out loser?? 

Think about your futures,ladies…

So if the Parrish case was not related to this case why is it everyone has to bring them in it? why don’tall of you leave them out of it and keep their name out of your mouths.And as far as this case I don’t think the whole story is out yet so i hear it’s going to be a self defence case,although you can’t always believe what you hear this came from a pretty reliable sorce.If dj felt he had to defend himself GOOD LUCK DJ!!