ELLERBE — A Greensboro man was arrested and charged late last week in connection to a Richmond County homicide.
Investigators with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office have charged 30-year-old Demario Antwan McDonald with an open count of murder in the shooting death of 59-year-old James Edward Pankey on Aug. 30.
According to an earlier report from the RCSO, a patrol deputy was flagged down around 12:25 a.m. Aug. 30 and told that a man was lying on the ground.
Pankey was reportedly found on a dirt path between High and Railroad streets, suffering from a gunshot wound and later pronounced dead at the scene.
In addition to the murder charge, McDonald is charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.
McDonald was arrested Friday, Oct. 13 and booked into the Richmond County Jail at 2:56 p.m., where he is still being held without bond. He is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 1. The firearm charge does not appear in online jail records, however the sheriff’s office says McDonald was given a $6,000 secured bond for that.
Online court records show McDonald has several pending charges in other counties:
- Montgomery: Assault on a child under 12
- Jackson: Assault on a female; possession of a firearm by a felon
Records with the N.C. Department of Adult Correction shows McDonald has a criminal history dating back nearly two decades.
McDonald was first convicted in 2005 for possession of a Schedule II controlled substance in Richmond County. He was initially given probation, which was revoked the following year and he spent about five weeks behind bars.
Records show McDonald was convicted in Montgomery County of driving with a revoked license in 2011, then the following year on one misdemeanor count each of child abuse and assault on a female.
In 2016, McDonald was convicted in Montgomery County of breaking and entering and obtaining property by false pretenses. His probation was revoked the next year when he was convicted of attempted breaking and entering, and breaking and entering with intent to terrorize or injure. He was incarcerated for about 19 months.
McDonald’s most recent conviction was in 2020 on two counts of assault on a female in Montgomery County.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
