11/19/06 — Teen indicted in death of friend

View Archive

Teen indicted in death of friend

By Lee Williams
Published in News on November 19, 2006 2:01 AM

A Goldsboro teen will face murder charges in connection with the May shooting death of a Charles B. Aycock High School student.

A Wayne County Grand Jury returned an indictment for second-degree murder Nov. 6 against Timothy Wydal Alston Jr., 18, of White Oak Road, Goldsboro.

The charges stem from allegations that Alston fatally shot his classmate, 17-year-old John Paul Setliff of East Wayne Street, about 2:35 a.m. May 30.

Setliff, a well-loved student athlete, Alston, a standout football star, and two other teens were allegedly sitting in a car on Albert Drive when the teen was shot.

Witnesses said Alston was twirling a gun on his finger when it went off.

Setliff was shot in the chest. He was taken to Wayne Memorial Hospital, where he died nearly six hours later.

Alston initially was charged with felonious assault with a deadly weapon while inflicting serious injury. When Setliff died, the charge was upgraded to murder.

Detective Sgt. Rick Farfour, the lead investigator in the case, said alcohol and drugs were factors in the shooting.

Another Goldsboro man also will face murder charges in connection with a shooting death.

David Lamar Applewhite, 34, of Royall Avenue, was indicted on charges of murder and discharging a firearm into an occupied property.

The charges stem from an alleged incident between Applewhite and Reginald Reid, 37, of Fussell Street.

Reid was found shot to death on Christmas Eve in 2005 in the 1700 block of Peachtree Street. Reid was found slumped over in his car that was riddled with bullet holes. The shooting occurred about 12:35 p.m.

Reid turned himself in to police after a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was charged with the shooting only seven hours after the incident.

Investigators said Reid and Applewhite, who had a history of disagreements, had an argument on the day of the shooting.

The grand jury also indicted Angelico Reyes Cruz, 31, of Billy Price Road, Seven Springs, for felony death by vehicle and involuntary manslaughter.

The charges stem from an accident in which Victor Cerritos, 19, of Old Smith Chapel Road, Mount Olive, was killed.

Cerritos died from severe injuries he received in a two-vehicle, head-on collision on N.C. 55 Feb. 21. Reyes Cruz, who was reportedly under the influence of alcohol, was ruled at-fault in the accident.

The grand jury also handed up 102 other true bills of indictment during its monthly meeting. Jurors could not act on five bills because witnesses were not present for three cases, a witness was unprepared to discuss the indictment for one case and paperwork was unavailable for another.

Sixty-three true bills were returned on various drug charges. Ten more people were indicted for breaking and entering. Eight people were indicted on weapon charges. One person was indicted for armed robbery. Two were indicted for common law robbery, and two others were indicted for arson.

In addition, two people were indicted for embezzlement by employee. One person was indicted for assault by strangulation and one another person was indicted for committing a sex offense.