Kha-Mari Harrison homicide: Three charged, including 15-year-old in shooting death of Hope Mills 16-year-old
HOPE MILLS, N.C. (WTVD) — Three people, including a 15-year-old girl, have been charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old over the weekend in Hope Mills.
Julius Smith, 20, is now charged with murder in the death of Kha-Mari Harrison, police said.
Hope Mills Police Chief Stephen Dollinger said investigators are confident they have everyone involved in the case.
“We’re pretty confident that we have everybody,” Dollinger said.
According to authorities, Harrison and her friend, who is 15, had allegedly planned to rob Smith during a meeting to buy drugs. The friend told police that
Harrison found Smith on Instagram and arranged the purchase.
Documents say Harrison approached Smith’s car, where four or five gunshots were fired. Surveillance video from Saturday morning helped officials identify Smith at a nearby gas station on Black Bridge Road, just minutes from Fox Ridge Road, where Harrison was shot in the chest.
“We’re able to identify the vehicles involved. And by identifying the vehicles involved, we used our license plate reader cameras and were able to put everything together,” Dollinger said.
Court documents indicate Smith had what appeared to be an AR-style rifle in his car at the time of the shooting. Harrison later died at Cape Fear Valley Hospital.
Harrison’s 15-year-old friend has been charged with armed robbery and conspiracy in connection with the incident.
Authorities also charged Brittany Grant, who investigators say is Smith’s aunt, with being an accessory after the fact. Police allege she helped Smith avoid detection and hide the car used in the shooting. Grant turned herself in to authorities on Tuesday.
“Detectives did a great canvass of the area. They located some video surveillance of some vehicles and tracked her down that way,” Dollinger said.
Police said they have located several weapons and are waiting for ballistics results to determine whether any were used in the killing.
“We have located some weapons and we’re waiting on the examination of ballistics to see if they’re the actual weapon that was used in the killing,” Dollinger said.
Authorities credit extensive investigative work, including the use of surveillance video and license plate reader technology, for quickly identifying and apprehending the suspects. Smith is scheduled to make his first court appearance on May 19.
Anyone with information related to the case is asked to contact Detective Labretta McBryde at 910-425-3385 or 910-425-4103.
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