Lilesville man charged in murder of girlfriend

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Lilesville resident Fortune Jaquan Spencer, 25, has been arrested in connection to the murder of his girlfriend, Sherika Monique Little, 24, of Wadesboro. Police say Spencer shot Little and then proceeded to attempt a series of botched carjackings.

Though the investigation is ongoing, the Sandy Springs Police Department charged Spencer with murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, motor vehicle hijacking, and attempted aggravated assault. Detectives anticipate additional charges against Spencer will be filed once the investigation is concluded.

The incidents are alleged to have happened on the morning of June 6, just before 7:30 a.m. Police responded to the parking lot of the Hilton Hotel located on Peachtree Dunwoody Road after receiving a report of shots fired.

When police arrived on the scene, they discovered Little inside of a vehicle apparently suffering from a gunshot wound. Little was rushed to the hospital where she was pronounced dead, according to the Sandy Springs Police Department.

The police obtained a description of the suspect after interviewing several witnesses of the shooting. From these interviews, the officers learned that the suspect had fled on foot.

Shortly after this, officers received a report that a person matching the description of the suspect had attempted a carjacking at a nearby intersection. The suspect shot the driver in the process of the carjacking and then fled once again.

The driver who was shot was rushed to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. They are expected to make a full recovery.

The suspect’s next carjacking was successful and the motorist of the vehicle was unharmed, police said. The suspect then proceeded to crash the vehicle he just stole near the intersection of Peachtree Dunwoody Road and Central Park Drive.

From here, the suspect then allegedly attempted, unsuccessfully, to carjack other vehicles before finally being struck by one of the vehicles he was trying to steal. The suspect was identified as Spencer.

Records show that Spencer was charged in 2011 with one felony count of receiving stolen goods and was convicted of the lesser charge of a misdemeanor count of receiving stolen goods after pleading guilty in 2013. Spencer was also convicted on Dec. 3, 2019, of a DWI charge he received on March 11. 2017.

In February 2019, Spencer was convicted of one felony count each of speeding to elude arrest and possession of a Schedule I controlled substance.

“It’s really sad. Another death from domestic violence,” said Karen Baucom, Director of the Anson County Domestic Violence Coalition. “People in Anson think domestic violence is an old crime. It’s not an old crime. It’s happening in our county. Now, we’re adding another silhouette to our vigil in October.”

Every year in October, the Coalition hosts a vigil for domestic violence victims. Part of this vigil includes a couple of dozen silhouettes, each representing a different person from Anson County that had been lost due to domestic violence.

“We have 23 silhouettes now,” said Baucom. “We’ve been doing the silhouettes for about 14 years now. When I started, we only had six. After going through and doing some investigation, we found more that we didn’t even know about.”

The silhouettes are comprised of both men and women.

“We’re very sad and our condolences go out to the family,” said Baucom. “We’re here to support, for family and victims of domestic violence. We want them to know they’re not alone. The agency is here if they need help.”

The Anson County Domestic Violence Coalition is available 24/7 and you can reach their hotline at 704-690-0362 to talk to a trained advocate.

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence reports that, “On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men.”

They also report that, “43.9% of North Carolina women and 19.3% of North Carolina men experience intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner sexual violence, and/or intimate partner stalking in their lifetimes.”