LUMBERTON — A man who was declared a fugitive when he disappeared as his murder trial was approaching was captured without incident in Hoke County this morning.
Walter Morrell McKoy Jr., 22, is being held in the Robeson County jail under a $1.1 million bond set by Superior Court Judge Gregory Bell, according to Erich Hackney, an investigator with the Robeson County District Attorney’s Office.
McKoy was located in an apartment at 10102 Athens Drive in Raeford and surrendered without incident, Hackney said in a statement. The U.S. Marshal’s Violent Fugitive Task Force, which included officers from the U.S. Marshals Service, N.C. State Probation and Parole, Fayetteville Police Department, Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office and Robeson County Sheriff’s Office, had been looking for McKoy.
“The District Attorney’s Office greatly appreciates the efforts of the U.S. Marshal’s Service who have always been extremely cooperative and eager to help. There is no doubt that one’s freedom is short-lived once they get after you,” Hackney said.
McKoy is accused of shooting and killing William Covington on Lambert Street in Lumberton on March 31, 2015, and was scheduled for trial on Oct. 9 on the charges of first-degree murder, armed robbery, discharging a firearm inside the city and possession of marijuana. McKoy made a motion to fire his attorney, but it was denied. McKoy’s trial was to begin the following morning. When he failed to appear the next day, Hackney placed McKoy in the National Crime Information Center as wanted and enlisted the help of the U.S. Marshals Service.
No new trial date has been set.