| April 19,
2002 |
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| Proffitt
Charged in Murder of Lambert |
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| A man charged with murder in connection with the
Wednesday's homicide of 32-year-old Mark Ellis Lambert was arrested in Monroe
County, Georgia this afternoon. The man was on the run from Burke detectives,
according to Sheriff John T. McDevitt. |
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Burke investigators are en
route to Forsyth, Georgia to speak with Jessie Lee Proffitt (right), 29, of 3829 Highway 181 North, Morganton, who
was arrested at approximately 2 PM this afternoon.
Georgia authorities
arrested Proffitt after Burke detectives received a tip this morning as to his
whereabouts. The detectives had earlier issued an all- points bulletin for the
state of Georgia, which led to Proffitt's capture. |
 |
|
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| The Georgia Highway Patrol and Monroe County
Sheriff's Office reportedly arrested Proffitt on I-75, sixty miles south of
Atlanta. |
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| Proffitt and another man, Christopher Lee
Huffman, were inside Huffman's red 1992 Ford Probe when stopped by Georgia
authorities. McDevitt said Huffman was also arrested and will be charged with
being an accessory after the fact of a murder. |
| |
 |
Mark Ellis
Lambert (left), 32, of Solid Rock Cove Road was
shot to death at Proffitt's residence, which is located at the intersection of
Highway 181 and Gwaltney Road.
According to Burke County Sheriff John T.
McDevitt, who was on the scene, the Sheriff's Office received a call at 4:42
a.m. on April 17th reporting the shooting. When officers arrived, they found
the victim dead in the kitchen of the house from an apparent gunshot
wound. |
|
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| McDevitt said Proffitt was among several
witnesses who said they saw another man shoot Lambert. |
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| "The witnesses all gave us the name of a
suspect, who turned himself in to me Wednesday afternoon after learning we were
looking for him." |
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| McDevitt said the man was questioned and later
released after detectives deemed his alibi to be credible. |
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| "The statements we received from the witnesses
at the house were not consistent with the evidence our detectives obtained,"
said the Sheriff. "We now believe the witnesses conspired together and
placed the blame on a man who was not even at the house during the time of the
shooting." |
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| The Sheriff said he and detectives began looking
for Proffitt Wednesday afternoon after establishing enough evidence to charge
him with the murder, but he was no where to be found. In the past two
days, several homes were searched in an effort to locate him, but officers came
up short until today, McDevitt said. |
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| McDevitt would not release a motive for the
murder, but added that alcohol and drugs found at the crime scene were a
factor. |
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| "We found many signs of alcohol consumption and
drug use inside the house, and therein lies the problem with this case,"
McDevitt said. "Our investigators have had to wade through lies and half-truths
by impaired party-goers trying to sidetrack us." |
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| If Proffitt waives extradition in Georgia, he
could possibly be back in Burke County by tomorrow, a detective
said. |
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| ************************************************************** |
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| Other Recent Press Releases: |
| |
- April 18,
2002...Authorities Investigating Early Morning Murder
- April 17,
2002...Three Arrested for Drugs, Including Teacher
- April 16,
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- April 15,
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- April 3,
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- April 1, 2002.....Traffic
Interdiction Unit Wins National Award
|
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