Alleged assailant in Dudley assault charged
By Jack Stephens
Published in News on January 12, 2005 2:10 PM
DUDLEY -- A 43-year-old man from Dudley was beaten and shot numerous times early Tuesday in a mobile home on Everittsville Road. Wayne County sheriff's officers arrested a man Tuesday night and charged him with the crime.
Roderick Underwood was taken by an ambulance to Wayne Memorial Hospital, where he was treated for multiple gunshot wounds and then was transferred to Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville. His condition was not immediately available today.
Deputies received a 911 call at about 3:20 a.m. Tuesday about a shooting in the mobile home and found Underwood.
After a day-long investigation, Anthony Alphant Lee, 40, of Timothy Street, Dudley, was arrested at a neighbor's home. Lee was charged with attempted first-degree murder and attempted first-degree arson. He was placed in the Wayne County Jail without bond.
Lee was to have had his first court appearance today to determine who would provide him with legal counsel.
Other charges will be sought through a grand jury indictment, detectives said.
The arson charged was filed, Sheriff's Capt. George Raecher said today, because someone tried to start a fire at the scene after the shooting.
Raecher said the crime may have been drug-related. He declined to say if a weapon had been recovered.
Raecher said information from a confidential informant and other people led to he arrest.
Lee has a lengthy criminal record. Raecher said he was convicted for second-degree murder in 1992 in New York and was sentenced to 3-6 years in Sing Sing Prison. He also was charged in November with carrying a concealed weapon in Wayne County.
Underwood also has been convicted twice of selling cocaine in Wayne County, according to court records. He was sentenced to two prison terms of 12 to 15 months.
Detective Sgt. Shawn Harris led the shooting investigation. He was assisted by Maj. Billy Anderson, Lt. Daryll Overton, Detective Sgts. Ray Brogden and Carl Lancaster, Detective Robert Chunn, patrol Sgt. Jeff Williams, Cpl. Kenneth Lupton and Deputy Michael Biggins. Dudley volunteer firefighters also assisted at the scene.