A man accused in a Sampson County “juke joint” murder one year ago will appear in Sampson County Superior Court Monday, where he is set to go on trial. His attorney has filed a motion to postpone the proceedings.

James Michael Cromartie Jr., 29, stands charged with murder and possession of a firearm by a felon in the deadly shooting of Gabriel Kerr, 22.

Kerr suffered fatal gunshot wounds July 1, 2008, following a dispute at a Garland-area nightclub known as the Cowboys Club. Authorities said words were exchanged between Kerr and Cromartie just before gunshots were fired.

When sheriff’s deputies arrived at the nightclub on Garland Airport Road, they discovered the body of Kerr in the backyard at the residence. It did not take long for investigators with the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office and N.C. State Bureau of Investigation to identify Cromartie as a possible suspect in the fatal shooting.

Cromartie turned himself in to law enforcement authorities amidst an extensive manhunt the same day.

Assistant District Attorney Robert Thigpen, who is prosecuting the case, said Cromartie’s attorney, Amos Link of Raleigh, has filed a motion to continue the trial. That motion will have to be ruled on prior to any jury selection process, making it unclear whether the trial will begin Monday or not. It is the first date set for the case, which has not been continued before.

Cromartie was still behind bars awaiting trial Wednesday, a Sampson detention officer said.

After initially posting $500,000 bond in September 2008 and being released, Cromartie was booked back in the Sampson County Detention Center in April after Senior Resident Superior Court Judge W. Allen Cobb Jr. ordered him there under $1 million bond.

That came after a motion was filed by Thigpen, who requested the bond be revoked upon learning that Cromartie had been arrested on Jan. 26, 2009 in Cumberland County on weapons and traffic-related charges. Cobb ruled the bond not be revoked, but doubled to $1 million.

In addition to the murder charge, Cromartie is facing offenses in Cumberland of possession of firearm by felon, driving while impaired, driving while license revoked and civil revocation of driver’s license. Cromartie also has driving while license revoked and window tint offenses pending against him in Sampson.

According to the Department of Corrections, he has previously been convicted of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, stemming from a June 2003 conviction in connection with a similar Sampson nightclub shooting. He was released from prison in January 2005.

Since his murder, the family of Gabriel Kerr has cried for justice. Their cry actually extends further back than last summer.

The victim’s father, Michael A. Kerr, stated in a letter to The Sampson Independent earlier this year that he wants that justice not just for one son, but two struck down by gunfire.

Michael Kerr’s other son, Anthony Lamont Kerr, was fatally shot by Johnnie J. Newkirk, 70, of 710 Wilbur Pridgen Road, Harrells, in May 2007.

Newkirk was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in April 2008 and sentenced to a minimum of 13 months and a maximum of 16 months for the Class F felony. The N.C. Department of Corrections lists no prior convictions on Newkirk. He is scheduled to be released at the end of July, court records show.

Chris Berendt can be reached at 910-592-8137, ext. 121, or by email at sicrime@myclintonnc.com.