KEENANSVILLE — A Sampson County man was sentenced to up to 31 years in prison on Thursday for his role in an attempted robbery and shooting that killed one man and injured another in the parking lot of the Beulaville McDonald's in 2020.
Antonio Murphy, 29, was convicted by a jury in Duplin County Superior Court of second-degree murder in the death of Randy Anthony Rolla Jr. of Greenville and the shooting of Michael Deangelo Bryant Jr. of Maysville, according to District Attorney Ernie Lee of the Fifth Prosecutorial District.
Lee said Rolla and Bryant were shot in the back about 8:30 p.m. Feb. 6 after Murphy and another man entered the back seating area of a car in the parking area of the business, 207 West Main St. Murphy and the other man pulled handguns and held them to the backs of the victims what Lee said was a robbery attempt.
Rolla, 20, and Bryant, then 22, were seated in the front of the car. Bryant reached for his own gun but Murphy and the other man opened fire, Lee said. The assailants then ran to a separate vehicle driven by a third person and fled from the scene. Information about the other two suspects was not immediately available.
An investigation that included the SBI, FBI and the Beaulaville Police Department identified Murphy as a suspect and revealed he and the victims agreed to meet at the McDonald’s in Beulaville for a transaction, Lee said. None of the men were from Duplin County; they had not met prior to the incident.
Bryant and Rolla were transported by EMS to Vidant Hospital in Kenansville, where Bryant Jr. was treated for a gunshot wound to the back that fractured his shoulder blade. Rolla suffered a gunshot wound to the head and a second to the torso. Due to the extent of his injuries, he was transported to Vidant Hospital in Greenville, where he was pronounced dead. Vidant is now ECU Health.
Forensic evidence, video surveillance footage, phone records, social media records and internet browser records tied Murphy to the incident, Lee said. The FBI Cellular Analysis Survey Team assisted the investigation and prosecution. FBI Special Agent Harrison Putman obtained Murphy's cellular phone records of the defendant, which placed him in Beulaville around the time of the homicide.
In addition to second-degree murder, Murphy was charged with attempted armed robbery, possession of a firearm by felon and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and inflicting serious injury.
Judge Henry L. Stevens IV of Duplin County sentenced him to a minimum of 300 months up to 372 months for the murder charge. The remaining sentences were to run concurrently with the sentence for the homicide. The state was represented by Assistant District Attorneys Jason McGuirt and Lori Carroll. The defendant was represented by Paul Castle of Jacksonville.
"This was a challenging prosecution requiring a significant amount of time to prepare, meet with witnesses, review lab reports and social media records," Lee said in a news release. The state was assisted by Administrative Assistant II Amy Hedgpeth who coordinated with many witnesses and family members.
Rolla's family demonstrated grace in court and were very articulate and passionate in their words about him, Lee said. "It is hoped by this office that this guilty plea will provide some degree of closure to the victim’s family."
Most Popular
Comments / 0