The family wants justice to be done in last week's shooting death of Everette "Mike" Smith.

So far, no one has been arrested in connection with the death of the Ridgeport area man.

His family wonders why.

The alleged shooter, Bobby Gunter, was Mike Smith's neighbor.

The two were considered "friends" by Mike Smith's younger brother, Bill E. "Dub" Smith, of Bloomington.

The two lived in mobile homes about 100 yards apart. Gunter, who lived with his Dad, Rich Gunter, moved there about two years ago. Mike lived on the road for about six years.

"Bobby (Gunter) would come over here and they would drink pop, stand outside and talk or sit outside on the porch," Dub Smith said. "They were friends since Bobby moved out here."

Dub Smith said he never expected anything like this to happen.

However, a property-line dispute that developed a little more than a week ago over three-feet of land changed all of that.

Bobby Gunter wanted to build a fence and he became irate when Mike Smith told him the fence as planned would be on his property.

The two argued Sunday, Aug. 3.

"It started last Sunday when they found a boundary marker and Everette tried to talk to Bobby about it. That's what started the whole thing," Everette's brother, Bill E. "Dub Smith told the Greene County Daily World. "Before he moved out here, this land was surveyed and there is a fence out here that is a property boundary and they were trying to take some of his land to put another fence up."

Mike Smith had someone come out and find the property-line spike that the surveyor had placed.

"He went and told Bobby that he found the spike and that is when Bobby made the very first threat to kill him," Dub Smith said.

On Monday, Aug. 4, Smith called the Greene County Sheriff's Department when Gunter allegedly threatened him with a gun.

Deputies Aaron Smith and Terry Wade were dispatched to the Smith residence at Route 4, Box 722 on County Road 950E, south of State Road 54.

The deputies talked for nearly an hour with Smith and Gunter -- trying to mediate an ongoing the dispute, according to call record information released by the Greene County Sheriff's Department.

Deputy Smith arrived at the scene at 1:45 p.m. and finished the call at 2:38 p.m. on Monday. He noted that the scene was secure when he left.

According to the call card, the neighbors had been in a verbal argument on Sunday, Aug. 3.

Then, the neighbor had threatened Smith with a gun and on Aug. 4 he allegedly was walking around the property while Smith was mowing -- prompting the call to the Greene County Sheriff's Department.

Dub Smith was present when police arrived on the scene on Aug. 4. He says he saw everything that transpired between Mike Smith and Gunter.

"I was standing on the front porch. Bobby came into Mike's yard with a pistol in his belt saying 'Come on, bring it on, what you going to do about it ... let's take care of this business right now. Let's see what you got'. It was really loud and that is when Mike turned around and took a few steps and Bobby said he was going to call the cops. Mike said he was getting tired of 'this crap', that's when he's (Smith) the one that called the cops and filed the report," Dub Smith told the Greene County Daily World.

Dub Smith said his brother, who was disabled, did own a gun, and was wearing it in a holster.

Gunter was wearing a gun/holster when police arrived, according to the call card record from the sheriff's department.

Some time last Thursday afternoon the two men got into another dispute that apparently escalated and the 58-year-old Smith was shot by his neighbor before 3 p.m.

Smith had gone outside to place a string on the property line as a marker to show Gunter where the property line was.

"He tied a string to the middle of property line and walked maybe 100 yards when they confronted him. He was on his own property as the evidence that is still there will show," Dub said.

Everette had asked his younger brother to come over while he put out the string in place, but Dub said he was not feeling well.

Smith died later at Bloomington Hospital in Bloomington.

An autopsy was conducted on Friday afternoon at Terre Haute Regional Hospital.

So far, the family doesn't know much about the case.

Both men were armed.

"The thing we (the family) can't understand is why the officers came out and took both guns. They even told us that Everette's gun was found under him -- not fired. Bobby's gun was fired. They took it (the gun), talked to Bobby and then let him go. He has not been charged or arrested," Dub stated.

Dub Smith says his brother was shot in the head.

"The (State Police) officer told us that as he (Everette) turned the shot was fired ... he was walking away," Dub said.

The younger brother added, "If he was going to shoot him, he should have shot him in the arm or the leg instead of in the head."

Dub Smith said he and his older brother were close.

The two came from a big family with 12 natural siblings -- seven brothers and five sisters -- and three step-siblings. Everette was the oldest.

Dub Smith called his brother an easy-going guy.

"He was my brother and we talked every day on the phone," he stated.

"He was very easy going. He went to a neighbor's house and gave them food even though he was on a fixed income. But he would give them some of his money to buy food for their kids. He didn't like to argue. He had high blood pressure and he didn't want to get it up. He took care of his property. He was out here (in the yard) with a push mower, mowing two acres of grass. He even helped Bobby's dad put in a garden last year. They were friends and got along great until this boundary dispute started."

He continued, "Nobody ever imagined anything like this could ever happen. Who would have ever thought in their wildest dreams that this would happen?"

Dub Smith said his brother's funeral arrangements are pending until his body is released from authorities. He will be cremated.

Greene County Sheriff Terry Pierce said these kinds of domestic calls are routine for his department and having one end with a fatal shooting is disheartening.

"It's discouraging for our county for sure," he said Friday afternoon.

"It's very discouraging, in civil issues officers don't have a lot they can do when they get there. We're trying to keep from having any breach of peace. We go out and try our best to mediate the problem and see if there is a resolve there. A lot of times there isn't. You can drive away and you think everything is just fine and then you may be going back on another call.

"The first thing we try to do is explain an attorney needs to be involved to help the people determine what is theirs and what is not. To walk away from this and have something this devastating occur is just really discouraging," Pierce concluded.

Dub Smth says he is considering a wrongful death civil suit against Gunter -- even if he is not charged criminally in connection with his brother's death.

"I have decided that even though nothing does happens or whatever happens, I'm going to sue for wrongful death. He (Everette's) was threatened and they confronted him on his own property. He was threatened three times."

Dub Smith said a sign with a drawing of large pistol was placed in Gunter's mobile home window facing Smith's property after the Monday incident may ironically have sent a message about things to come.

The sign read: "We don't call 911, we get it done."