New dad killed after defending black man from slurs at York County bar

Update: The mother of Chad’s son says “we won’t let him forget” about his father

Richard Merrill would give anything to have his brother back.

But if there’s any solace, it’s knowing he can be proud of the way his brother died, just as he was proud of how he lived.

Chad Merrill, a 25-year-old new dad and Lower Windsor Township resident, was fatally shot in the chest early Saturday morning after defending a black man who was being called the n-word and other racial slurs.

Police confirmed the shooter made the racist comments at the black man, Jerrell Douglas, who Chad Merrill was defending and possibly knew as a regular in the bar.

More: From slurs to a shooting: How the Red Rose incident unfolded

Police identified the alleged shooter as James Saylor, a 24-year-old Lower Windsor Township resident. Saylor is charged with one count of criminal homicide.

That homicide occurred about 1 a.m. in the parking lot of Red Rose Restaurant & Lounge after the owners told Saylor to leave.

Saylor was arraigned Saturday night in York.

The affidavit states Saylor was arguing with Douglas, a friend of Merrill’s. Saylor was removed by Red Rose owner Nick Spagnolo after Saylor used racial slurs toward Douglas.

Surveillance video from the bar showed Saylor being removed, then walking toward his vehicle, a 2010 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, in the parking lot. He then discharged a round from his gun toward the building, the affidavit states.

More surveillance video showed Merrill walking into the parking lot and toward Saylor’s vehicle, then falling to the ground. Witness accounts suggest Merrill may have been trying to do some peacekeeping.

Jessica Godden, the mother of Merrill’s 5-month-old son, confirmed that Merrill and Saylor both attended Eastern York High School.

When police arrived after being dispatched at 1:02 a.m., Merrill was on the ground bleeding from a suspected gunshot wound to the chest.

After the alleged gunshot, Saylor attempted to leave the area in his pickup but collided with a black Mazda sedan before fleeing west.

Damage from the collision helped police match the description of the vehicle later in the morning, as the truck was found at Saylor’s address in Lower Windsor Township.

Merrill was pronounced at the hospital at 1:50 a.m.

“Maybe he was trying to right the wrong,” said Hellam Township Police Chief Doug Pollock.

“This is unusual,” he continued. “In the 16 or 17 years I’ve been here, there hasn’t been a homicide.