Free Press Crime Blog

From the office of District Attorney Dewey Hudson:

On March 2, 2009, Andrew Williams, age 34, pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter in Duplin County Superior Court for the death of Michael Shane Ray, age 34, that occurred on June 20, 2008.  The defendant also pled guilty to malicious conduct by a prisoner that occurred on November 23, 2008 and involved spitting on jailer James Whitfield of the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office.  The defendant was sentenced to a minimum of 103 months and a maximum of 133 months in the North Carolina Department of Correction by the Honorable Russell J. Lanier, Jr. The State was represented by Chief Assistant District Attorney Ernie Lee and Assistant District Attorney Bob Roupe.  The defendant was represented by Kevin Heckart of Burgaw, North Carolina. 

    The evidence for the State showed that on June 20, 2008, the Warsaw Police Department and NC State Bureau of Investigation responded to a homicide that occurred at the Warsaw Inn at 816 North Pine Street, Warsaw, North Carolina.  Officers and agents proceeded to Room 240.   The Duplin County Sheriff’s Office provided assistance in this investigation as well.  On June 24, 2008, Jennifer Marie Hill was interviewed by SA R.D. Reeves of the SBI and Lt. Phil Humphrey.  Ms. Hill was a witness to the homicide.  Hill stated that the victim had been to motel room of Hill and the defendant a couple of times on June 20, 2008.  On one occasion, the victim requested a crack pipe.  The victim returned to the room a third time at approximately 10:25 p.m. and the defendant told the victim not to return to the room.  An argument ensued between the victim and defendant.  The victim returned to the motel room and the victim attempted to force himself inside the room.  She indicated that the victim pushed and swung at the defendant.  During this altercation, the victim was stabbed by the defendant in the parking lot in front of the motel room.  The next day, the defendant admitted to her that he used a pocketknife and he told her “I’m sorry, I think I messed up.”

     On June 24, 2008, the defendant was interviewed by SA Scott Kennedy of the SBI and Captain Jerry Wood of the Warsaw Police Department.  The defendant said that the victim kept going to his room at the Warsaw Inn where defendant and Jennifer Marie Hill were staying.  The victim bought a crack pipe from them.  The victim kept returning to the defendant’s room and he told him to not return.  At approximately 1:30 a.m. on June 20, 2008, the victim threatened the defendant and the victim swung at the defendant.  The defendant grabbed an opened knife that was on top of the dresser.  The knife had been used to cut Brillo pads to stick inside the stems to smoke crack.  Defendant admitted to swinging the knife at the victim, the victim grabbed him, and victim started stabbing at the victim to get him away.  Defendant said he struck the victim in the mouth with his fist.  The agent noticed a tooth mark on his right index finger.  The fight landed up outside the motel room.  Defendant dropped the knife and ran off.  He found out the victim was dead later that day after his mother told him.  He said the knife had a 3 inch blade. 

     Willie Satchell was interviewed and said that about a week after the victim was killed the defendant told him he killed the victim in self-defense.    

     An autopsy performed by Dr. John Almeida of Onslow Memorial Hospital on June 21, 2008 determined the cause of death to be a stab wound to the left side of the chest entering the heart causing massive exsanguination.   The victim also suffered a slash wound to the right chin and stab wounds to the left chin.  Cocaine was present in the victim and his blood ethanol was 150 mg/dL.  The pathologist estimated the knife to be 5 to 7 cm long or approximately 3 inches long.

     The defendant has been convicted of assault on a female in Duplin County in 2000, driving while impaired in Duplin County in 2008, and other misdemeanors.  The victim has been convicted of numerous misdemeanors in Duplin, Wayne, and Harnett Counties, as well as, common law robbery in Wayne County in 2002, felony larceny and felony breaking and entering in Duplin County in 1999, and assault with a deadly weapon on a government official in Duplin County in 2003.       

     In North Carolina, voluntary manslaughter is the unlawful killing of another human being without malice.  Even if a defendant is exercising self-defense but uses excessive force in his defense, that is construed as voluntary manslaughter. 

     By this plea, the defendant will serve a minimum of 8 ½ years and a maximum of 11 years in the North Carolina Department of Correction.