Three men pleaded guilty in recent months to the 2020 robbery and shooting death of a South Carolina man outside a Spring Lake beauty salon.
Herbert Lee Goodson, 20, was out back with two friends when a gunman confronted the trio in a bid to rob them and a shootout ensued June 24, 2020.
On Sept. 11, Montre Javon Moody, 30, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon, accessory after the fact of voluntary manslaughter and accessory to assault with a deadly weapon after the fact in the June 24, 2020, killing of Herbert Lee Goodson, 20.
In exchange for the plea, charges of first-degree murder, attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury were dismissed, according to court records.
Moody was sentenced to 23 months to three years, four months, in prison, the record states. He was given credit for the more than 18 months he spent in jail awaiting trial, according to the record.
The record also states that Moody will be on unsupervised probation for 18 months after the completion of his sentence and is not to have contact with co-defendant, Jarad Simmons.
Jarad Sequan Simmons, 32, pleaded guilty May 16 to voluntary manslaughter, attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm by a felon and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury.
Simmons was sentenced to seven years, three months to nine years, nine months in prison, the record states. He was given credit for the nearly four years he spent in jail awaiting trial, according to the record.
The record also states that Simmons undergo a mental health assessment during his sentence.
Joseph Marquan Coverson, 29, pleaded guilty July 16 to conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon and assault with a deadly weapon causing serious injury. In exchange for the plea, charges of first-degree murder, attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury were dismissed, according to court records.
Coverson was sentenced to 23 months to three years, four months in prison, the record states. He was given credit for the nine months he spent in jail awaiting trial, according to the record.
Upon his release, he will serve 18 months of unsupervised probation.
Related: Grand jury indicts Fayetteville man more than three years after Spring Lake slaying
June 24, 2020
According to an arrest warrant, Goodson was killed during an attempted robbery at Splash Hair Studio on North Bragg Boulevard.
Court records state that 30 minutes before the shooting at about 2:15 p.m., Goodson withdrew $1,200 from an ATM, and then returned back to work at the North Bragg Boulevard business. About 15 minutes later, Goodson and two other individuals, Deshawn Montre Jones and Trinavia Lashon Edgecomb, both 20, went out back to smoke, the record states.
According to the warrant, Moody, Simmons and Coverson were waiting behind the business in a BMW driven by Moody. The record states Simmons exited the BMW with a gun and demanded the trio freeze and hand over whatever was in their pockets.
Jones and Simmons then exchanged gunfire, and Goodson was struck in the armpit and Jones was shot in the leg. Goodson was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the autopsy report.
The autopsy states that police recovered 12-15 shell casings from the scene.
Moody and Coverson left in the BMW during the shooting, leaving Simmons at the scene, the warrant states. By the time Spring Lake police arrived, Simmons was gone too.
Police found the BMW, its passenger-side door marred by at least two bullet holes, parked behind Moody's mother's home on Rim Road, the warrant states.
Moody was arrested June 26, 2020, and Coverson was arrested a day later, records show. Simmons was arrested the following month.
The original charges against Coverson were dismissed in October 2020, but after new evidence surfaced, Cumberland County District Attorney said the grand jury returned true bills in October 2023 charging Coverson in the deadly robbery.
According to Goodson's obituary , "he was compassionate, charming, funny, silly and very colorful."
"Lee’s amazing character was defined by his life and ability to warm and charm the hearts of family and friends," the obituary said.
Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com .
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Three men plead guilty in deadly 2020 armed robbery attempt in Spring Lake
Local News
