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| Warrants issued in connection with Irisburg shooting |
Tremain Alando Thomas, 20, is seen in a photo released Wednesday by the Henry County Sheriff's Office. |
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Wednesday, January 27, 2010
By AMANDA BUCK - Bulletin Staff Writer
A Stoneville, N.C., man is being sought in connection with the shooting death of one man and the wounding of a second Tuesday in Irisburg, according to the Henry County Sheriff’s Office.
Warrants have been issued for Tremain Alando Thomas, 20, of 117 Springdale Drive, Stoneville, on charges of second-degree murder, malicious wounding and two counts of use of a firearm in commission of a felony, according to a news release issued early Wednesday.
Anyone with information about the shooting or Thomas’ whereabouts is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 638-8751 or Crimestoppers at 632-2743. Rewards of up to $1,000 are available through Crimestoppers.
Wednesday's story:
One man was killed and another injured Tuesday in a shooting near the intersection of Hobson and Irisburg roads that police believe was drug-related, according to the Henry County Sheriff’s Office.
Akoreon JaJuantez “A.J.” Murphy, 22, of 207 Madison St., Eden, N.C., was found shot to death inside a 2009 Chevrolet Impala, according to a news release and sheriff’s Lt. Ricky Walker. He declined to say where Murphy was injured or how many times he was shot.
Officers had identified a suspect late Tuesday but were not releasing the person’s identity, Walker said, citing the ongoing investigation.
The suspect was not in custody as of 11:20 p.m. Tuesday, said Sheriff Lane Perry.
According to the sheriff, drugs were involved in the incident at some point. He declined to elaborate.
Walker said the Impala apparently was traveling down Hobson Road toward the intersection when the shooting occurred shortly after 2 p.m. Based on the investigation, he said police believe that “once the gunfire started, (the car) just shot across” Irisburg Road, where it landed nose first in a ditch.
Officers were summoned to the scene on a report of an accident at 2:14 p.m., he said.
“Only just before the officer arrived did dispatch receive a call that it was something other than” an accident, he said. The first officer to arrive “found a shooting had taken place and discovered a victim inside the car.”
Murphy’s body was found in the right passenger seat of the white four-door sedan, Walker said.
Demarcus LaVon Hairston, 27, of Ranson Road in Martinsville, also was injured in the shooting, according to Walker and the release. Hairston, who was shot in the neck area, was not at the scene when officers arrived, Walker said.
“He had gotten a passerby to take him to the hospital,” the lieutenant said. “That’s where we came into contact with him, at the hospital.”
Hairston was treated and released Tuesday at Memorial Hospital in Martinsville, Walker said.
Investigators recovered one weapon, he said, describing it as a pistol or handgun. He declined to say where the gun was found or whether police believe it was used to shoot Murphy.
Officers on the scene Tuesday found several cartridge casings in and around the vehicle, according to Walker and Henry County’s Sheriff’s Sgt. Curtis Spence. The car’s back passenger window was broken, and what appeared to be bullet holes could be seen in a small window just behind the broken window.
Walker said the broken window “in all likelihood” was shot out. Several shots were fired in and around the car, the release said.
The Impala, which had a North Carolina license plate number WWR-4365, was a rental car, Walker said. He declined to say who was driving at the time of the incident.
More than a dozen officers responded to the scene and quickly cordoned off the area with crime scene tape. Irisburg and Hobson roads were closed for about four hours as the investigation was under way, Walker said.
An autopsy will be performed on Murphy, probably today, Walker said.
In addition to the sheriff’s office, Virginia State Police troopers responded to the scene.
Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 638-8751 or Crimestoppers at 632-7463.
Rewards of up to $1,000 are available from Crimestoppers for information related to crime. The nature of the crime and the substance of information provided determine the amount of reward paid.
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