ROCKINGHAM — A second suspect in a robbery-turned shooting last month is in custody.
The Rockingham Police Department posted to its Facebook page June 25 that 18-year-old Rylee Ke’lynn Morgan had been apprehended.
Morgan and 19-year-old Elijha Lamar Ellerbe are accused of committing a robbery May 23 on Skipper Street in which the victim was grazed with a bullet, according to RPD investigators. The victim was reportedly treated and released.
Ellerbe was arrested June 22 in the town of Ellerbe by deputies with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office following an anonymous tip — not long after the RPD released wanted posters of both suspects.
Morgan was booked into the Richmond County Jail at 7:28 p.m. June 25 on the following charges: attempted first-degree murder; attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon; felony conspiracy; discharging a firearm into an occupied property; and discharging a firearm in the city limits.
Ellerbe is facing identical charges.
RPD’s Facebook post noted that Morgan was being held on a $1 million bond. However, jail records show his bond is set at $400,000, as is Ellerbe’s.
Both are scheduled to appear in court July 7.
Online court records show Morgan has pending charges in Scotland County of larceny of a firearm, assault by pointing a gun and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill; and traffic citations for speeding and failure to wear a seat belt in Richmond County.
Ellerbe has several pending charges in Moore County: one felony count each of possession of a stolen firearm, possession of a Schedule I controlled substance, possession with intent to sell or deliver cocaine, and maintaining a vehicle, dwelling or place for a controlled substance; and one misdemeanor count each of carrying a concealed gun, possession of up to a half-ounce of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Records show Ellerbe also has court appearances for a seat belt violation in Richmond County and a window tint violation in Moore County.
Neither have any prior convictions in the state, according to records with the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Correction.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
