Murder indictment returned in shooting
By Lee Williams
Published in News on December 10, 2006 2:00 AM
A Goldsboro man will face murder charges in connection with the February shooting death of a Mount Olive man.
A Wayne County grand jury returned an indictment for first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, Dec. 4 against Basher Baker, 21, of Hugh Street.
The charge stems from the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Octavius Manley of Mount Olive. The shooting occurred in the 600 block of Wilmington Avenue, Goldsboro police officials said.
Police found Manley lying unresponsive in the street about 6:30 p.m. Manley was treated by emergency crews at the scene and later taken to Wayne Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police and agents from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations interviewed witnesses immediately after the shooting. A warrant for Baker's arrest was issued the next day, officials said.
Baker fled the state and eluded capture for nearly eight months. He was picked up in his birth state of New Jersey on unrelated charges and extradited back to Goldsboro in October.
Police declined to give a motive for the fatal shooting or say whether the two men were involved in a fight at the time of the incident.
Baker's trial, which was set for Dec. 7 at the Wayne County Courthouse, was postponed. A new trial date has not been released.
The grand jury also handed up 43 other true bills of indictment during its monthly meeting. Jurors could not act on one bill because no witness was present.
Twenty-six bills were returned on various drug charges.
Four people each were indicted for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, habitual felon and armed robbery. Three people were indicted for rape.
One person, Roy George Legg, 58, of Pittman St., was reindicted for murder and other charges in connection with the shooting death of 43-year-old Ricky Aaron Thompson, due to a technical error.
One person each was indicted for breaking and entering and larceny.