MONROE — A Wadesboro woman is one of four people charged in the robbery and death of a South Carolina Man in Union County.
Police in Monroe say officers responded to a call that came in around 11:20 p.m. on July 26 regarding a shooting at the Relax Inn.
Witnesses told the officers — who found 39-year-old Danny McGriff Jr., of Lancaster, South Carolina, dead on a walkway from an apparent gunshot wound to the chest — that they had heard the shot and saw the victim on the ground.
Two days later, police — assisted by the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation — arrested 23-year-old Demetress Leandra Bennett, of McRae Avenue, who officers believe knew the victim.
Also arrested were 27-year-old Jarvis Dakota Miller, 27-year-old Robert Cordara Hood and 21-year-old Charles Denziele Hunt, all of Monroe.
Police say McGriff was shot with a rifle, but would not disclose the caliber. They also say the defendants took an undisclosed amount of cash from the man, but are not sure if he had a wallet, as one as not been located.
“I appreciate all of the hard work of the detectives and the assisting agencies working around the clock to solve this case” Monroe Police Chief Bryan Gilliard said in a statement.
All four are charged with first-degree murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon and conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon. Police also charged Miller with possession of a firearm by felon. They are all currently being held under no bond in the Union County Jail and are scheduled to appear in court Aug. 18.
Online court records show Bennett has several pending charges already in Union County: one misdemeanor count each of simple possession of a Schedule VI controlled substance, possession of marijuana paraphernalia and resisting a public officer; and one felony count of possession of a Schedule II controlled substance.
She also has several pending traffic violations in both Anson and Union counties.
Records with the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Correction show Bennett has no prior convictions in the state.
Miller has pending criminal charges dating back to 2012, including: two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon; robbery with a dangerous weapon; attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon; and larceny of a motor vehicle.
Records show he was convicted of delivering or selling a Schedule II controlled substance in 2012, making him a felon. The following year he spent time behind bars when his probation was revoked after being caught with a firearm.
Hood has no pending charges but records show prior convictions on drug, weapon and robbery charges dating back to 2007.
Hunt has no other pending charges or prior convictions.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
Reach William R. Toler at 910-817-2675 and follow him on Twitter @William_r_toler.