ROCKINGHAM — A man suspected in a Saturday shooting has been charged with murder.
Richmond County Jail records show that 23-year-old Thomas Owen White is facing an open count of murder and is currently being held without bond.
He was booked into the jail at 5:18 p.m.
White is accused of shooting and killing 18-year-old Julius Tyrone Leak of Rockingham in a gravel parking lot on Church Street in East Rockingham.
Leak was taken to the emergency room following the shooting, and once investigators learned where the shooting occured, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office took over the investigation.
Prior information released by the sheriff’s office on Sunday did not indicate that Leak had died.
The sheriff’s office first asked for help Sunday afternoon in locating White, and announced just after 4:30 that he had been taken into custody without incident.
Sheriff Mark Gulledge issued a statement thanking the residents of Richmond County for providing information on White’s location.
Jail records show White is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 17.
Online records show White has no pending charges, however, he is currently on probation with a 12-month suspended sentence.
White was convicted on April 15, 2021 of obtaining property by false pretenses and assault on an officer or state employee, according to records with the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Correction.
He was previously convicted in 2017 on two counts of obtaining property by false pretenses and one count of felony breaking and entering.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
