WHITEVILLE — A teenager has become the second person charged in the shooting death last week of a N.C. Highway Patrol trooper with connections to Robeson County.
Chauncy Askew, 18, was arrested early Tuesday in Loris, S.C., on a charge of first-degree murder, said Jon David, Columbus County district attorney. He was taken into custody without incident after a 24-hour, two-state manhunt involving multiple law enforcement agencies and a tactical unit.
He is being held at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center in Conway, S.C., and is awaiting extradition back to North Carolina.
During a press conference on Tuesday, David declined to provide details about Askew’s alleged role in the shooting, saying that he couldn’t divulge details about the pending case. David also refused to say when law enforcement became aware of Askew’s involvement.
“Chauncy Askew’s name emerged early on in our investigation and at that point we needed to develop corroborating information to substantiate our ability to charge him,” David said.
Raheem Davis, 20, of Chadbourn, previously was arrested and charged with first-degree murder after he allegedly shot and killed Conner during an early morning traffic stop along U.S. 701 in Columbus County on Oct. 17. Davis is being held in the Columbus County Jail under no bond.
According to information previously released, Davis was driving a stolen GMC pickup truck at about 12:15 a.m. when Conner stopped him for speeding. The truck’s driver pulled over onto the shoulder and Conner approached the vehicle. The driver of the pickup then fired several shots, striking the trooper.
The murder was caught on the Conner’s video camera.
“Both of these defendants will be vigorously prosecuted by my office and we will do so using the strength of the investigation developed by the SBI,” David said. “Our evidence to date conclusively shows that there were two people in the truck when Trooper Conner made that fateful stop and both of them are now in custody.”
Davis was on probation after being convicted of shooting into an occupied vehicle in Chadbourn when he was 18 years old.
Conner, an 11-year veteran of the Highway Patrol assigned to Troop B, District 5 in Columbus County, was born and raised in Bladenboro. He worked for about a year as a Lumberton police officer, and also spent some time in Robeson County working as a Highway Patrol trooper.
Conner, who would have turned 39 years on Monday, is survived by a wife and two young children.
Thousands of people from across North Carolina attended funeral services for him on Sunday that were held at South Columbus High School in Tabor City.
