"We've never had anything like this to have ever happened before, so certainly it sent shockwaves all across our county," said Sampson County Sheriff Jimmy Thornton, who spoke at Wednesday's press conference in Raleigh alongside Michael Easley, Jr. United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
As part of his opening remarks, Easley Jr. announced that Robert Williams and Derek George have been indicted in the case and are now each charged with one count of conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base (crack), one count of conspiracy to commit a Hobbs Act Robbery, one county of Hobbs Act robbery, and one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Williams is also facing one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. A third person named in the indictment is charged with illegal gun possession but is not currently facing charges related to the murder. Both men were indicted by a federal grand jury, in an indictment returned in August.
Thornton said the house, located along Garland Highway in Sampson County, was on the Sheriff's Office radar for drug activity prior to the murders.
"It is evident that there was an effort to perpetrate a robbery on the individuals who were at the house, to unlawfully take property belonging to them to include drugs and drug proceeds," said Easley, Jr.
Two men indicted in Sampson County quintuple murder
On November 9, 2023 Williams was arrested for violating his probation, but is now facing charges related to the murders. George was arrested last month, following the indictment.
"Everybody certainly was anxious. Everybody expects arrests to take place in a short period of time. But as you see, it's taken us a year to get where we are," said Thornton, who praised cooperation between law enforcement agencies.
The men are set to be arraigned in December. If convicted, Williams and George could get the death penalty.
When Sampson County deputies arrived at the scene, they found bodies belonging to people ranging in ages from 33-73. All of them were found in different rooms of the home.
Investigators said they considered the shooting targeted, but did not give any other details about what connected the suspects and the victims or what lead up to the shooting at the time.
"No matter the circumstance of someone's life, no matter the house they find themselves in or the street corner, we view everybody who is a victim of gun violence as a victim of gun violence," said Easley, Jr.
Those that were killed include Alfonza Jeffers (73), Dagoberto Lopez (33), Hector Salazar Lopez (39), Lamar Williams (58) and Jamie Lynn Rowland (aka Jamie Thompson) (47).
Easley, Jr. credited tips from the community in helping lead to the charges.
"Our success, and the safety of the community turns so heavily on community's investment and trust in law enforcement, and the willingness to raise your hand and say something if you know something. To communicate those tips to law enforcement, so that we can get justice for victims, so that we can deter acts of violence like this one. This case was helped along by tips from concerned citizens who shared what they knew and what they saw. And it is only by community members who are willing to raise their hand and step forward that we will end patterns of violence in this country," said Easley, Jr.
There is reward money still available in this case and anyone with information is asked to contact law enforcement.
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