New findings in Brandon Hardy case released Friday morning result in lawsuit by family

PITT COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) - Friday morning new findings were released regarding the case of an Eastern Carolina man who was shot and killed on New Year’s Day of 2022.

WITN first reported on February 25th, 2022 that the Pitt County District Attorney’s Office would not issue criminal charges in the shooting death of Brandon Hardy.

Friday new details were released in the case showing the autopsy and how Hardy’s family believes it could rule out self-defense. Family members say following the new details, they fear there may be more to the story.

“We refute self-defense. In a way, how can someone be standing with the difference in height and the bullet wound be at a downward angle versus upward? If he’s 6ft and I’m 5′5 and I’m defending myself, it’s either going to be straight out or upward,” says Hardy’s sister, Brittany Hardy.

The Pitt County Sheriff’s Office found that the shooter, Robert Greene acted in self-defense when he shot Hardy because Hardy entered a home on Alvin Road outside of Grimesland unlawfully.

The report said that Hardy assaulted Greene and forced him to the back door at gunpoint. Deputies said that Greene was able to pull his gun from his pocket and shot Hardy once.

“As a law enforcement agency, we thoroughly investigated that case. We came to a conclusion that was aligned with the district attorney’s office as far as prosecution. There will be no prosecution. It outlined a situation in which we feel Robert Greene had the right to self-defense,” said Pitt County Sheriff, Paula Dance.

However, the family spokesman Keith Cooper said that is not the outcome the family wanted.

“There are more holes in the investigation than you might find in a sponge,” Cooper says. “The Sheriff’s Office is full of deception. They are corrupt. I hate to have to use that word but they’re possibly corrupt if what we are alleging is true and they need to be held accountable.”

Stick with us on air and online at WITN as the story develops.