Two Marines slain in Jacksonville

[thedrifter]

Two Marines slain in Jacksonville
August 16,2006
ROSELEE PAPANDREA
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Two people were killed early Tuesday morning in what Jacksonville police say is the first double homicide in two decades.

The bodies were found after midnight on East Drive off Lejeune Boulevard. The names of the victims — a 20-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man — who died from apparent gunshot wounds were not released pending notification of next of kin, said Jacksonville Police Chief Mike Yaniero.

The victims were both Marines with 2nd Marine Logistics Group, according to a release from Camp Lejeune public affairs.

Police were called to 43 East Drive, in the area of Northeast Creek, at about 12:24 a.m., Yaniero said.

“When we got there, we discovered two bodies and started the investigation,” Yaniero said.

Agents with Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the State Bureau of Investigation are assisting police.

Karol Davis, a retired police officer who lives next door to the victims’ house, said she was in the shower when a neighbor called 911 after hearing gunshots. Davis said she got out of the shower, went outside and found the male victim laying in the walkway inside her front gate.

“He fell into the flower bed,” she said.

Yaniero confirmed that when police arrived, one of the victims was found in front of Davis’ home.

Davis believes he was coming to get help, she said.

“He knew I was retired from the Police Department. He wouldn’t have come in my gate for no other reason. He was afraid of my dog,” said Davis, who has lived in the neighborhood for about 18 years.

There was blood on the front stoop and the storm door of the yellow house the victims were renting. A Honda Civic was still in the front yard. Davis said the two lived in the house only a few weeks. She didn’t really know them well.

“He was very nice and very polite,” she said. He borrowed her lawnmower once.

Police spent Tuesday following up on leads, processing evidence and interviewing people connected to the victims. NCIS agents canvassed the neighborhood. Officers also spoke with a few of the people who drove up to the house throughout the day.

At about 5:30 p.m., Timone, a 7-year-old Belgian malinois that works in the Police Department’s K-9 unit and specializes in searches for objects, was taken around the outside of the house and in a vacant lot and wooded area to the right of the house.

Uniform officers and plain-clothes detectives also searched the neighborhood.

Neighbors didn’t seem extremely concerned about the crime, calling it an “isolated incident” that seemed to be directed at the people at 43 East Drive.

“I’m not scared to live in my neighborhood,” Davis said. “I don’t think anything like this has ever happened in this neighborhood.”

Longtime Jacksonville police officers with more than 20 years on the force couldn’t recall the last time there was a double homicide in Jacksonville. The last homicide Jacksonville police investigated was in July 2003 when Hilario “Larry” Caldeyro was shot to death at Sandy Run Apartments. Joseph Franklin Quick was charged with murder in connection to that death.

There have been two double homicides in Onslow County in the past 10 years. The Onslow County Sheriff’s Department still hasn’t charged anyone in connection to the shooting deaths of Marine Staff Sgt. Andre Bullen, 26, and his brother, Nigel Bullen, 23, who were killed at Andre esidence on Hunters Ridge Drive in September 2005.

The homicides of 16-year-old Shannon Clegg, who was stabbed to death, and 18-year-old Detrik “Bullet” Howard, who was shot to death, also haven’t been solved. Authorities found the decomposed bodies of the teenagers in October 1999.

Anyone with information in connection to the homicide on East Drive can contact the Jacksonville Police Department at 455-4000 or Crime Stoppers at 938-3273. Callers do not have to reveal their identity.

Contact Roselee Papandrea at rpapandrea@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, Ext. 238.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

2:34 pm | 2 Marines found dead on N.C. street
Associated Press

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. - Police in Jacksonville are investigating a double homicide after the bodies of two Marines were found on a local street.

Chief Mike Yaniero says the two died of apparent gunshot wounds early yesterday morning. Police identified them as 20-year-old Amanda Carrithers and 19-year-old Jordan Barrow.

Carrithers and Barrow were with the Second Supply Battalion, Second Marine Logistics Group. Neither their hometowns nor their ranks were available.

A retired police officer who lives next door to the victims' house says she was in the shower when a neighbor called 9-1-1 after hearing gunshots. Karol Davis says she got out of the shower, went outside and found Barrow lying in the walkway inside her front gate.

Davis said the two were renting the house and had lived there for just a few weeks.
Information from: The Daily News, http://www.jdnews.com

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Probe closely guarded
August 17,2006
ROSELEE PAPANDREA
DAILY NEWS STAFF

The two Camp Lejeune Marine lance corporals killed on East Drive in Jacksonville early Tuesday were both Chicago natives and one was an Iraq war veteran.

Lance Cpl. Amanda L. Carrithers, 20, and Lance Cpl. Jordan Barrow, 19, both of 2nd Supply Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, died from gunshot wounds, said Dr. John Almeida, the Onslow County medical examiner who performed the autopsies.

Jacksonville police still hadn’t made an arrest Wednesday in connection with the double homicide that took place sometime after midnight Tuesday.

“We are still continuing our investigation,” said Jacksonville police Chief Mike Yaniero, who released very little information about the deaths, including what caliber gun was used or any possible motive for the crime.

“If we found any evidence, it would be part of the investigation and we wouldn’t release that information until we were sure it wouldn’t jeopardize the investigation,” he said.

Carrithers and Barrow rented the house on East Drive and only lived in the neighborhood for a few weeks, according to neighbors. The name of a third person, a male, was also on the mailbox in front of the home. Yaniero wouldn’t confirm whether others lived in the house or if Carrithers and Barrow were in a relationship.

“They weren’t married,” Yaniero said.

Barrow, who joined the Marine Corps in July 2005, was an administrative clerk. Carrithers, who joined in August 2004, was a basic warehouse Marine. She served in Iraq from September 2005 to March 2006, according to a release from 2nd Marine Logistics Group.

Carrithers and Barrow both had received a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and a National Defense Service Medal. Carrithers also received the Iraq Campaign Medal, according to the release.

Jacksonville police were called to 43 East Drive, which is off Lejeune Boulevard near Northeast Creek, at about 12:24 a.m. Tuesday. When authorities arrived, Barrow was found next door on the walkway in front of Karol Davis’ house.

Davis, a retired police officer, told The Daily News on Tuesday that she believed Barrow was coming to her for help and that’s why he came inside her gate. She said Barrow was afraid of her dog and in the past would speak to her from outside the gate.

Agents with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and State Bureau of Investigation are assisting Jacksonville police in what authorities say is the first double homicide in the city in at least two decades. The last homicide Jacksonville police investigated was in July 2003.

NCIS agents canvassed the neighborhood Tuesday. Jacksonville police along with Timon, a Belgian malinois in the department’s K-9 unit, searched the area Tuesday evening.

Yaniero wouldn’t say whether police or the dog found anything in connection to the crime.

“We are conducting interviews both locally and out of state,” Yaniero said. “We are working on several different leads.”

Anyone with information about the homicides can contact Jacksonville Police Department at 455-4000 or Crime Stoppers at 938-3273. Callers do not have to reveal their identity.

Contact staff writer Roselee Papandrea at rpapandrea@freedomenc.com or at 353-1171, ext. 238.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Slaying victims’ families await answers
August 18,2006
ROSELEE PAPANDREA
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Marine Lance Cpl. Amanda Carrithers was on the phone with the father of her unborn child when she and her roommate, Lance Cpl. Jordan Barrow, were shot to death in their home on East Drive early Tuesday.

Carrithers’ friend heard some kind of ruckus in the background and then the phone went silent. He dialed her cell phone over and over. Carrithers, who was about six weeks pregnant, didn’t pick up, said Tracy Carrithers, Amanda’s mother.

Worried that something horrible happened to Carrithers, the friend, who lives out of state, called information to get the number for the Jacksonville Police Department. He knew Amanda had received a threatening text message from some unknown person earlier in the day. He message had scared her.

The friend called authorities, hoping officers would drive by the house at 43 East Drive, off of Lejeune Boulevard near Northeast Creek. He eventually called Tracy Carrithers in Chicago, who tried to reach her oldest daughter numerous times. She also called the police for help.

“I called at about 1:20 (a.m.) Chicago time,” Tracy Carrithers said. “I called her phone and left a voicemail. She didn’t respond like she normally does.”

Amanda Carrithers, 19, was found by police at about 12:24 a.m. inside the house she rented with 19-year-old Barrow, who was her friend and a fellow Camp Lejeune Marine attached to 2nd Supply Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group. Barrow was found next door lying on a walkway inside their neighbor’s gate. They both lived in the house for about 10 days.

Friends and family don’t know who would want to kill either one of them or why. While Jacksonville police search for those answers, the family of both victims, most of whom live in the Chicago area, are left to wait.

It still doesn’t feel real to Tracy Carrithers, who continued to call her daughter’s cell phone Tuesday night, even though by that time both Jacksonville police and the Marine Corps had already delivered a mother’s worst news.

“I just couldn’t believe it,” Tracy Carrithers said. “Tuesday night I called her cell phone. It went right into voicemail. I heard her voice. I just wanted to hear my baby’s voice.”

Several members of Barrow’s family spoke to him Sunday. Now, they are learning the details about his last moments of life from newspaper articles and whatever information the police can provide.

“We are just getting bits and pieces,” said Loetisis Buchanan, Jordan’s aunt. “That’s the hard part about this. We don’t even know where he was shot. It’s under investigation, and we won’t know anything for awhile.”

In the meantime, both Amanda’s and Jordan’s mothers, who didn’t know each other before this tragedy, are finding out they have a lot in common.

“They were both the same rank in the military and the same age,” Tracy Carrithers said. “They died at the same time.

“It’s just sad. It’s just really sad. My heart goes out to Jordan’s family as well.”

Barrow was described by his aunt as a good, God-fearing young man who attended church and would help anybody. He grew up in Joliet, Ill., and joined the Marine Corps in July 2005 with the hope of one day becoming a physician.

In a profile he created on the Web page MySpace.com — a social networking site that provides a place for users to post personal information about themselves — Barrow answered about 70 questions in a “tell me about yourself” survey. He listed “obstetrician” as what he wanted to be when he grew up. Under first thoughts when he wakes up, Barrow answered “God and family,” which he also included as his heroes.

His weakness was “trying to help others” and under the question how do you want to die, Barrow responded with “peaceful,” according to the MySpace.com profile.

Amanda Carrithers called her mother about five times Monday. She got a new puppy that day and was excited to share details about her newest love. Frequent calls were a normal part of their mother-daughter bond.

“She loved life. She loved computers. She wanted to become a lawyer,” Tracy Carrithers said. “She was a beautiful girl.”

Amanda joined the Marine Corps in August 2004 and served in Iraq from September 2005 to March 2006. She was living her mother’s dream.

“I was supposed to go into the Air Force, but I got pregnant with her,” Tracy Carrithers said. “She was just a very loving person, very sweet and very down to earth. Anybody who met her loved her.”

It’s one of many reasons why Tracy Carrithers can’t fathom why anyone would want to kill her child.

“I just don’t know who would do this to my baby,” she said.

Anyone with information about the incident can contact Jacksonville Police Department at 455-4000 or Crime Stoppers at 938-3273. Callers do not have to reveal their identity.

Contact staff writer Roselee Papandrea at rpapandrea@freedomenc.com or at 353-1171, ext. 238.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Posted on Tue, Aug. 22, 2006

Two Marines arrested in slayings of fellow service members


Associated Press

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. - Two Camp Lejeune Marines have been charged in the slayings of two of their comrades, authorities said Tuesday.

Pfc. Jondre Andrew Lowemincey, 20, of 2nd Marine Logistics Group, 2nd Supply Battalion has been charged with two counts of murder, Jacksonville Police Chief Mike Yaniero said Tuesday. Pfc. Tharon Javon Johnson, 19, was charged with accessory after the fact to felony murder, Yaniero said.

Lowemincey was being held without bail Tuesday. Johnson was in the Onslow County Jail with bond set at $350,000.

The charges stem from the slayings of Lance Cpl. Amanda L. Carrithers, 19, and Lance Cpl. Jordan Barrow, 19. Both were from the Chicago area and like Lowemincey were assigned to the 2nd Supply Battalion.

Police found the bodies just after midnight Aug. 15 after being called to a home the victims shared in Jacksonville. It was the city's first double homicide in at least 20 years.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Arrests Made In Slayings Of 2 Chicago-Area Marines
2 Other Marines Held In Connection With Killings

(CBS) JACKSONVILLE, N.C. Two Marines based at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina are in custody in connection with the shooting deaths of two of their fellow Marines from the Chicago area.

CBS 2’s Sylvia Gomez reports this story is sending shock waves through the military.

Shock registered on Loleta Barrow’s face and body. In a phone call, she learned her son was shot in the face and twice in the chest. The details are just as hard to swallow as the fact that he was murdered.

“I can forgive but I won't forget,” Barrow said.

“My son died five days before my birthday. He flew in the day before my birthday, and I'm burying him on my wedding anniversary,” Loleta said.

Across town, another mother shares the same grief. Tracy Carrithers and Loleta Barrow have a lot in common.

“I hope they ask God to forgive them for what they done too,” Tracy said while mourning her daughter, Amanda.

Both Amanda Carrithers and Jordan Barrow were lance corporals in the Marines. The two best friends just became roommates two weeks ago, moving into what they called “the little yellow house on the corner.”

Amanda had just returned from Iraq. Jordan was ready to go in February. Both were gunned down last week, allegedly by two fellow Marines.

“I never expected her to die at home. Not in the United States,” Tracy said.

At about 12:24 a.m. on Aug. 15, Jacksonville police were dispatched to a home where shots had been reported fired, according to a release from the Jacksonville Police Department. A caller said she had heard gunshots and saw several people running out of the front door of a yellow home on the corner of East Drive, police said.

Upon arrival, officers found blood all over the home's front stoop and front glass storm door and blood on the living room floor, according to police. Police said they found Carrithers in a bed, dead from apparent gunshot wounds.

Barrow was found in the front yard of a nearby home, also dead from apparent gunshot wounds, police said.

Jacksonville Police Chief Mike Yaniero says Private Jondre Andrew Lowemincey, 20, is being held without bond on two counts of first-degree murder.

Private Tharon Javon Johnson, 19, is charged with accessory after the fact to felony murder. He's jailed on $250,000 bond.

No official motive is known, but Amanda’s mother says her daughter dated Jondre, told him she was returning to her ex-fiancé and that she was six weeks pregnant on the same night gunshots thundered around the house.

Amanda was shot in the back. Tracy tried to call that night.

“I left a message saying, ‘Pumpkin, this is your mother. This is Mommy, call me back,’” Tracy said.

The deaths were the first double-homicide in Jacksonville, North Carolina, in more than two decades.

The investigation of the double homicide involved local and military police.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Two Marines arrested in slayings of fellow service members

JACKSONVILLE, N.C.
The Associated Press

Two Camp Lejeune Marines have been charged in the slayings of two of their comrades, one of whom was six weeks pregnant, authorities said Tuesday.

Pfc. Jondre Andrew Lowemincey, 20, of 2nd Marine Logistics Group, 2nd Supply Battalion has been charged with two counts of murder, Jacksonville Police Chief Mike Yaniero said Tuesday. Pfc. Tharon Javon Johnson, 19, was charged with accessory after the fact to felony murder, Yaniero said. He turned himself in to authorities early Tuesday.

Lowemincey was being held without bail Tuesday. Johnson was in the Onslow County Jail with bond.

The charges stem from the slayings of Lance Cpl. Amanda L. Carrithers, 19, of Chicago and Lance Cpl. Jordan Barrow, 19, of Joliet, Ill. All four Marines were assigned to the 2nd Supply Battalion.

Authorities didn't release any motive for the killings, but Jacksonville police Chief Mike Yaniero said Carrithers and Lowemincey had some type of relationship. He wouldn't elaborate.

"From our investigation, it's obvious that Miss Carrithers was the target," Yaniero said.

Police found the bodies just after midnight Aug. 15 after being called to a home the victims shared in Jacksonville. Police found blood and glass from the front storm door on the front stoop.

Carrithers, shot twice in her back, was found dead in her bed, Yaniero said. Barrow, who was found next door on a walkway, was shot once in the face and twice in the chest with a small-caliber gun, he said. A third person who also lived at the house was asleep at the time of shootings and not injured.

Carrithers was talking to the father of her baby on her cell phone when she was shot. He heard loud noises and then the phone went silent, said Tracy Carrithers, Amanda Carrithers' mother.

"I hope that justice will be served so that my daughter didn't die in vain," Tracy Carrithers said Tuesday.

Barrow's mother, Loleta Barrow of Chicago, planned to bury her son Wednesday.

"I feel at ease," she said of the arrests. "I'm glad I found out before my son's funeral."

It was the city's first double homicide in at least 20 years.

Johnson, a traffic management specialist originally from Tampa, Fla., has been at Camp Lejeune since February, said Brenda Varnadore, a spokeswoman for 2nd Marine Logistics Group.

Lowemincey, a warehouse clerk originally from Georgia, has been at Camp Lejeune since Jan. 28, Varnadore said.

___

Information from: The Daily News,

Ellie