| February
11, 2004 |
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| Two
Arrests Made in Icard Man's Death |
| Authorities Searching for One Murder
Suspect |
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Leiah Helton |
Bobby English |
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| A tip to the Sheriff and some hard-nosed
detective work cracked the murder case of an eighty-two year old Icard man
early this morning. |
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| Arrested and charged with the murder and armed
robbery of Henry "Red" Gibson is Leiah Helton, 29, of 5656 Alan Good Drive,
Conover. Also facing murder and armed robbery charges is Bobby Lee English, 21,
of 816 32nd Street NE, Conover, who has yet to be arrested. Warrants were
issued for his arrest. |
| |
Charged with
the armed robbery of Gibson is Crystal Danell Perryman (right), 18, of 1540 Eckard Road #29,
Conover.
Gibson's bloody body was found by deputies on February
5th inside a recreational vehicle mobile home he was using as a residence. The
mobile home is located on Highway 70 near East Burke Boulevard. |
 |
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| Deputies went to the residence after the
Sheriff's Office received a call requesting Gibson's welfare be checked. |
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| Preliminary autopsy findings show the man was
beaten to death, according to Burke County Sheriff John T. McDevitt, who
spearheaded an all night investigation into the murder after earlier receiving
a tip. McDevitt said robbery was the motive behind Gibson's killing. |
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| McDevitt said he received a telephone call on
Tuesday afternoon from someone who wanted to meet personally with him. The
caller said they had significant information concerning Gibson's
death. |
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| A short time later, McDevitt and a detective met
with the informant. According to McDevitt, a wealth of credible information was
obtained which prompted the sheriff to take several of his detectives to
Catawba County and continue the investigation. |
| |
| A number of suspects were brought to the Catawba
County Sheriff's Office for questioning, and the interviews ultimately led to
the suspects' charges and arrests. |
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| McDevitt said it appeared Gibson had been
severely beaten and died an agonizing death, suffering numerous broken bones.
His body was found just inside the doorway of his residence. |
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| "No one deserves to die the way he did,"
McDevitt said. "That poor man's body was so mangled and broken that we were
initially wondering if he had possibly been hit by a vehicle and somehow
crawled back to the residence. Red was known to walk the highways all the time
in his military attire." |
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| Detectives said they do not think Gibson knew
his assailants. The man is believed to have been beaten with an ax handle,
which was found at the scene, and superficially assaulted with a knife. One
investigator stated Gibson was struck repeatedly with fists, as well as being
stomped on and kicked. The suspects reportedly took $4,500 from the man's home
before fleeing the scene. |
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| According to McDevitt, evidence was found at a
suspects' residence which will prove their involvement in the murder, although
McDevitt declined to disclose what type of evidence was seized. |
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| Charges are pending in this case against several
other suspects, who detectives labeled as "accessories." |
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| "I'm proud of my detective division, and
appreciative of the cooperation we received from the Catawba County Sheriff's
Office and State Bureau of Investigation," McDevitt said. My investigators
worked a twenty-four hour day without stopping, but it paid huge dividends in
the end." |
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| Helton and Perryman are scheduled to have first
court appearances later today. |
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| ************************************************************** |
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