Murder in Earl Press Conference

After yesterday’s arrest of two men in connection with the Dec. 6 shooting death of Earl resident Derrall “Pedro” Petty, the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Department and Cleveland County District Attorney’s office held a press conference this morning at 11.

Here are highlights from the press conference, conducted by Lt. Durwin Briscoe, Detective Wes Love, and Sally Kirby-Turner of the district attorney’s office:


The motive for the killing is believed to be robbery. A purse belonging to the victim’s girlfriend was taken and recovered near the murder weapon at an abandoned house directly behind Petty’s 6035 Deep Green Drive home.

Martavious Santonio Curry, 19, was arrested by Gastonia Police Wednesday and transferred to the sheriff’s office.

Montrell Antonio Archie, 21, was arrested by the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office.
Archie was detained at the scene immediately following the shooting and taken to the Law Enforcement Center to be interviewed. He was detained about two hours before being released and was always seen as a person of interest.

Both men have criminal histories and Curry has a history of robbery.
Neither is thought to have gang affiliations.

A call to the Crime Stoppers anonymous hotline pointed detectives to Curry, identified by his street name of “Tico.”

Curry had been released from the Gaston County Jail the day before the shooting. He was serving time for a probation violation.

Fingerprints from the murder weapon, an SKS semi-automatic rifle, and all other evidence has been sent to the state lab for analysis.

Archie told investigators he went to Petty’s home the day of the shooting to buy crack. However, no drugs were found at the scene.

Archie told investigators the shooter, Curry, held him at gunpoint during the robbery. Detectives said they found no evidence to support that claim. “Based on our investigation, no one was held at gunpoint,” Briscoe said.

District Attorney Rick Shaffer is out of town this week but when he returns, he will determine whether to prosecute the murder as a capital case.

The district attorney’s office plans to meet with family members later today.
Several family members were on hand for the press conference but they declined to comment.

Despite Wednesday’s arrests, it has not been ruled out that other suspects may be involved, Briscoe said. The case is still under investigation.

Detectives thanked the SBI, Shelby Police, district attorney’s office, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police, Gastonia Police, ATF, Crime Stoppers and county residents for their assistance in the case.

"His whole life was a million to one shot ..."

1976


2006


Fifth sequel or not, I'll be standing in line to see Rocky Balboa this Christmas.

Murder in Earl

It's amazing how in the industry of covering news plans can go out the window in a heartbeat.

I promised a package on the growing gang presence in Shelby for later this week. Well, I spoke too soon and I've learned from my mistake.

Yesterday, which I had set aside to work on projects such as the gang piece, I was busy standing along Deep Green Drive in Earl for four hours as detectives and K-9 officers from the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office investigated a murder.

The flashing lights of emergency vehicles. Police tape blocking off entire yards. Neighbors and family crying and screaming as my stomach turns.

The glamorous job of a reporter.

The suspect is still on the loose and we'll have more in Friday's paper. Here's the coverage we've given to the story thus far:

Live on-scene reporting with an audio report from myself and video interviews with a neighbor and Capt. Alan Norman

Today's front page story

Today I spoke with Sgt. Mark Self, who is the K-9 trainer for the sheriff's office, about the lengthy K-9 search for the missing suspect Wednesday. He gave me a lot of great information that will be in Friday's paper but I thought this part was especially interesting when it comes to the dogs' routine.

"The dog will usually work very hard for about 45 minutes to an hour" then go on a 15 to 20 minute break before returning to the search, Self said. "They more or less have to grit it out."

When that dog goes on a break, another fresh dog is brought in to replace him.

We also learned today what kind of weapon was used in the shooting - a SKS assault rifle similar to this:

Scary, huh?

Gangs in Shelby

I spent about an hour yesterday speaking with Shelby Police Lt. Tim Walker about the gang presence in Shelby. I learned a lot and hope to share all that with you later in the week.

It was back in June that I took at look at several confirmed members of the Bloods that had set up shop in Shelby and were responsible for a string of violent crimes. But now it seems as though the Crips - or at least those claiming to be Crips (there's a fine line between the two) - are in town as well.

I've obtained photographs of gang hand signs that we'll be sharing, gang graffiti that has recently been seen in Shelby, as well as footage of a "Beat In" initiation that we hope to have available online.

So with all that said, I'm curious as to if anyone out there has seen gang activity - or what looks like gang activity - in their neighborhood. I'd be interested to hear your story.

Here are some of the recent pieces The Star has covered in regards to gang activity:

Go ahead ... make his day (3/31/06)

Is our hometown another haven for thug life? (6/4/06)

‘Wannabes’ or real gangs? (6/5/06)

Shelby man arrested in shooting (7/19/06)