Burglars fatally shoot man during robbery

HOKE COUNTY Hoke County Sheriff Hubert Peterkin tells ABC11 Eyewitness News that the shooting happened at a house on Somerset Drive in the Somerset Subdivision near Fort Bragg.

He says the three suspects kicked in the front door of the home after they saw the family leave Monday afternoon.

However, the men were caught off guard when a man visiting the family was inside the house. Nicolas Bekiris, 31, of Raeford was shot and killed during a struggle with the suspects. But not before he called 911.

"When they went into the home the victim he, basically he heard the door being kicked in, confronted the suspects," Peterkin said. "He called 911 and advised them of the address of where he was. He let them know that there were two suspects in the home to go ahead and dispatch law enforcement to that area."

Peterkin says the 911 call was very clear. The dispatcher could hear what was going on inside the house and that the victim was fighting for his life.

"He really did the best he could," he said. "The unfortunate thing was they shot an unarmed man. He was not armed. He was fighting. He was trying to apprehend them."

Authorities say during the confrontation, one of the suspects shot another suspect. He was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Hoke County deputies have arrested 20-year-old Richard David Perez of Fayetteville and 17-year-old Justin Ryan Vasquez of Raeford. Authorities have not released the third suspect's name.

All three are charged with first-degree murder, felonious breaking and entering and felony conspiracy.

The family who lives in the house describes the Somerset community as a quiet place. And Peterkin says the suspects apparently knew the people who lived at the house and didn't think that they were at home.

"It wasn't just picking anyone's home," Peterkin said. "I think they were familiar with these people and they were taking advantage of these people."

People who knew the victim describe him as a man of few words.

"He [was] quiet," Bekiris' neighbor Ricky Joyner said. "He didn't bother anybody … nicest guy you want to meet."

Bekiris worked at Tekton, a maintenance company on Fort Bragg.

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