A 59-year-old Turkey woman died last week after at least one shot reportedly fired into her residence struck and killed her.
Annie Jane Faison, of 58 Darion Lane, Turkey died in a May 20 incident, which Sampson County Sheriff’s officers reported a week later, on Tuesday, May 26.
According to Chief Deputy Marcus Smith, reports were released late because officers were working with Duplin County investigators to gather information in that case and multiple others involving shots being fired into residences in and around the Turkey area as well as parts of Duplin County.
While officers, he said, are working several leads at this time, a suspect has not been identified or arrested.
“The public should remain vigilant and report anything suspicious to us,” Smith said in an interview Tuesday. “This is one of those incidents where even the smallest bit of information could solve the case.”
Faison died on May 20, shortly after deputies responded to the Darion Lane residence to investigate reports of shots being fired at a residence.
When they arrived, they found Faison suffering from a gunshot wound. Deputies, Smith noted in his report, secured the scene and attempted “life-saving measures” on Faison who ultimately died from her injuries.
Tuesday, Smith declined comment on where Faison had been shot, citing an attempt to protect the integrity of the investigation.
One day earlier, on May 19, Smith said deputies had responded to another Turkey residence on Cornwallis Road, also in reference to shots being fired into a residence. No one was injured in that incident.
Those two crimes, the chief deputy said, could be related to nine others which have occurred in Duplin County since May 15.
“They are possibly connected,” Smith said in a phone interview Tuesday.
Because of the similarities in the cases, investigators with Sampson coordinated with officers from the Duplin Sheriff’s Office, the Clinton Police, Warsaw Police, Wallace Police, Beulaville Police and Kenansville Police departments, as well as the state Highway Patrol and the SBI.
Together, he said, they identified 11 shooting incidents — nine in Duplin and two in areas of eastern Sampson — beginning on May 15.
“Over the last week, law enforcement officers from Sampson and Duplin counties have worked tirelessly to identify the person or persons responsible for these incidents, and have coordinated a multi-jurisdictional investigation,” Smith said in a release about the incident.
Over the Memorial Day weekend, he noted, more than 37 law enforcement officers from Sampson and Duplin patrolled the area between Clinton and Warsaw in an attempt to deter criminal activity.
“Our office,” Smith stressed, is committed to thoroughly investigating every criminal act in Sampson County and we are thankful for the trust and communication we received from the public.”
Smith encouraged anyone with information about any of the shooting incidents to contact investigators using the confidential tip line at 910-564-5261 or responding online at www.sampsonsheriff.com and clicking on “Sheriff’s Citizens Connect.”