Victim recounts night of fatal shooting of brother in Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Larry Burgin, 37, of Madera died after he was shot in the upper body. His brother, Eric was seriously hurt and the surviving victim says the suspect invited him over to talk over family issues.

Eric has several fractures in his face, two swollen black eyes and no hearing in his left ear. He and his two brothers were on their way to their mom's Monday night after a sushi dinner in Clovis when they got a call from Edgar Ripley.

According to Eric, Ripley gave them his address to stop by to talk about him about text messages and calls the victim's wanted to stop. But within seconds of arriving, he says Ripley went for a gun.

"This caught everybody off guard," Eric said. "Nobody was expecting anything like this whatsoever, at all."

Burgin and his family believe the three brothers were set up by the suspect who wasn't interested in talking. The victim's mother Tami Tombs says she is devastated by everything that happened during the short confrontation.

"All three of my boys," she said. "I almost lost them all that night."

Larry's blue Camaro is still in his parent's driveway. His mother describes him as a man with a genuine heart who would help anyone who needed it.

"He was just so loving," Tombs said. "He would do anything for you, just anything for you. He would always just come in the house with a big old smile and give us all hugs, no matter what he always wanted to hug you."

Eric is visiting the Central valley from the central coast. He was planning to move here before the deadly encounter and says his heartache is the worst pain he's ever felt.

"I feel like this is a nightmare," he says. "All of this is a dream. I keep seeing certain people walk through the door and I keep thinking it's my brother."

Fresno Police initially arrested Ripley for murder but he was set free on Thursday when no charges were filed. A statement from the District Attorney's office said "at this point in the investigation, a charge of murder could not be proven in court 'beyond a reasonable doubt.'"