| February
13, 2004 |
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| Murder
Suspect Arrested in Boone |
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A suspect
in the murder of an elderly Icard man was arrested in Boone Thursday night,
reportedly as he was leaving his girlfriend's mother's home in a taxi
cab.
"Luck was with us. If we had arrived two minutes later, we would
have missed him," said Burke County Sheriff John T. McDevitt, who traveled to
Watauga County after receiving information that Bobby Lee English (right) was possibly there. |
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| English, 21, is accused of the murder and armed
robbery of 82-year-old Henry "Red" Gibson. Officers in Burke and Catawba County
had been looking for him since early Wednesday morning. |
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| Leiah Helton, 29, of 5656 Alan Good Drive,
Conover, was arrested Wednesday and faces the same charges as English. A third
suspect, Crystal Danell Perryman, 18, of 1540 Eckard Road #29, Conover was
arrested Wednesday for the armed robbery of Gibson. |
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| Officers with Burke County and
Watauga County reportedly walked up a driveway leading to the home of
English's girlfriend's mother in an attempt to surprise the murder suspect. The
home is located approximately one mile from the Boone Police Department. |
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| McDevitt said officers encountered the taxi and
waved for the cab driver to stop, where they found English inside. He was
unarmed and did not offer any resistance. |
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| English was brought back to Burke County, where
he was served the murder and armed robbery warrants, and booked without
privilege of a bond. |
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| 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. |
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| 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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| ************************************************************** |
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