A Roanoke Rapids woman who has allegedly been hiding a man wanted in last Saturday’s Ward Drive murder has been charged as an accessory after the fact.

Tiffany Rawlings, 24, also faces a count of possession of drug paraphernalia following her arrest today, according to Lieutenant Bobby Martin of the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office.

Watson

Martin said in a press release Rawlings is affiliated with Brandon Watson, who is wanted in the murder of Antonio Mills and the shooting of the two other people in the mobile home of Rhea Smith Road.

Martin said Rawlings has been aiding Watson as he attempts to hide from law enforcement during its investigation of the murder.

When she was arrested today officers found drug paraphernalia on her and she was jailed on $300,000 bond. She has a February 16 court date.

Meanwhile, law enforcement continues its search for Watson, who is considered to be armed and dangerous and is believed to frequent Roanoke Rapids, Littleton and Warren County. Martin could not be reached for further comment.

Watson served nearly two years for a 2005 murder which was reduced to manslaughter, law enforcement and state Department of Correction records confirm.

Watson’s violent criminal past is one of the reasons they are concentrating on getting him in custody.

In 2005, Watson, of Kincaid Drive, Roanoke Rapids was charged in the murder of 32-year-old Jeffrey Squires. Lance Jerome Kearney, who is related to Lester Kearney, who was charged in Saturday’s murder, was charged with accessory after the fact of murder. He was convicted in 2007 and is currently projected to be released from prison in February, according to department of correction records.

While sheriff’s office officials are declining to discuss details of the Saturday murder, in which Mills, 29, was shot repeatedly and killed, the 2005 murder was believed to be drug related, Sheriff Jeff Frazier said at the time.

Lester Kearney

Lester Kearney was arrested without incident at a dwelling in Chapel Hill with assistance of the city’s police department and the State Bureau of Investigation.

He was jailed in Halifax without the opportunity for bond.

The sheriff’s office received a call of shots fired shortly after midnight Saturday morning and learned Mills was murdered. Two other people in the Ward Drive mobile home were shot.

As deputies responded an additional 911 call came through that said witnesses were involved in a chase with the suspect vehicle, which was last seen around the Highway 48 and Highway 158 area of Roanoke Rapids.

Investigators learned two men entered the home of Mills and a struggle ensued. The struggle ended after one of the suspects repeatedly shot Mills. Temple Saturday declined to discuss what kind of weapon was used and declined to name the two victims who were also shot.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call the sheriff’s office at 252-583-1991 or Crimestoppers at 252-583-4444.