Murder suspect surrenders
By John Joyce
Published in News on November 15, 2014 10:38 PM
A day after three men were arrested and charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a 21-year-old mother, a fourth suspect turned himself in to police.
Anthony Graham, 30, surrendered at the Goldsboro Police Department Friday afternoon and is being held in the Wayne County Jail.
He joined Rahmel Maurice Phillips, 24, Cequon Aredale Phillips, 22, and Joshua M. Collins, 24 -- the others who have, to date, been charged with a single open count of murder.
"There is an ongoing dispute between a group from Kinston and a group here," Maj. Al King said, adding that it was not necessarily a gang dispute. "We are looking into that possibility, but there is nothing right now to tell me that this was gang motivated."
Wayne County Sheriff Larry Pierce said the men will be housed separately due to the nature of the crime.
"These arrests are the product of a lot of hard work, countless hours of overtime put in by the investigators, and the cooperation of Duplin Public Safety and the Lenoir County Sheriff's Office," King said.
The investigation began after 3 a.m. Oct. 31, with patrol units responding to the area of Sixth and Humphrey Streets to several reports of shots fired.
When they arrived, officers found a minivan partially off the road, doors ajar and airbags deployed -- the body of a 21-year-old mother of three, later identified as Shanekqua Thompson, inside.
Shells of various caliber lined both Sixth and Humphrey Streets leading to the vehicle.
From the beginning, police have suspected that Ms. Thompson was not the intended target.