Father Of Accused Teen Unsure How He Missed "Signs"
GARLAND (CBSDFW.COM) - The father of a teen accused of shooting and killing a store clerk in Garland in January says he doesn't know how he missed the warning signs.
Bryan Moore said he had a nagging feeling when he watched the surveillance video of a deadly shooting at a nearby 7-Eleven store on the news.
"I thought, that all looks like familiar, how it happened, stuff he was wearing, and I thought -- that's just negative thinking. That couldn't be my son," said Moore.
But the next day, that nagging feeling was confirmed when a SWAT team surrounded his Garland home.
"Right then, my stomach just dropped out, and I was like -- you gotta be kidding," says Moore. Moore says, Garland police found a 7-Eleven bag with cigarettes stolen during a deadly robbery in his son's bedroom safe. Despite the evidence, family and friends of the teenager struggle with the accusations against him.
"Every one of them said, 'that's not the Colten I know'. They said, 'it can't be true'," says Moore.
Family describes Colten as a happy, affectionate child who kept copies of the bible on his bookshelf. Like most boys' bedrooms, his wall was covered with posters of his favorite sports teams.
But, a year ago, Colten's parents say they noticed signs of depression.
"I came home one day. And he was just sitting there crying for what appeared to be no reason. And, I tried to talk to him about it, and he didn't want to talk," says Moore, who wrote it off as "teenage stuff."
Garland police have charged Colten with a second armed robbery, which happened in November, and a second shooting a week before the murder.
"How I missed it? Couldn't answer. Couldn't tell you," says Moore. "And you go through, well, okay, I wasn't that great of a father. I could have done a lot of things different."
The distraught father prays for the families of his son's victims daily. He prays for his own son, too.
"I just hope he becomes mentally and spiritually stable."
Colten Moore is currently behind bars awaiting trial. His father says he believes a psychological exam may help explain his son's actions.
(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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