The deadly incident happened Nov. 14 during an apparent armed robbery.
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Officers who responded to the Oak Tree Apartments that morning found 27-year-old Marquis Perry of Nashville dead from a gunshot wound and his girlfriend bound with zip ties to her wrists. The woman's 12-year-old son was also present. Neither was harmed.
Antwan Ray Hawkins, 35, of Charlotte, is in custody and faces charges of first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon and felony breaking and entering.
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Montreal Tyrek Cooper, 20, of the 1300 block of Maple Street in Rocky Mount, also faces the same charges. He is not in custody.
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"The motive, according to what we have found is Cooper saw Marquis Perry with a large amount of cash," Nashville Police Chief Anthony Puckett said Friday. "We don't know what the sum of the cash was, but we know that he saw him with a large amount of cash. Cooper then sent the pictures to Mr. Hawkins. They planned the robbery. During the robbery, the robbery turned deadly."
Puckett said Nashville Police got a tip Dec. 9 that Hawkins and Cooper were involved in connection to Perry's death. He said Nashville Sgt. Shockley went to Charlotte that night and interviewed Hawkins.
Police found out Hawkins was staying at the Executive Inn in Rocky Mount during the time of the crime, and he was taken into federal custody for a probation violation.
Shockley also interviewed Cooper who "confessed to the crime," Puckett said, and "knew details that were not made public."
The U.S. Marshals Service is assisting with locating Cooper, Puckett said.
"Every lead that we have received has been investigated," Puckett said. "There was very little evidence at the crime scene and while that evidence continued to be processed, Sergeant Shockley and Investigator Jones never stopped working to gather information on the individuals responsible for this horrific act. This investigation was a puzzle of many pieces that were put together to form a picture of what happened and thanks to the hard work and dedication of all of those involved, some form of closure can finally be brought to the Perry family."