‘Armed and dangerous’ suspect in teen killings in Roanoke Rapids is captured in Wake County: Sheriff

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — An 18-year-old North Carolina man sought in the killing of three people — including two teens in Roanoke Rapids — was caught early Saturday in Wake County at a home south of Raleigh, according to the Wake County sheriff.

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Considered “armed and dangerous,” Eric Lamont Martin Jr. of Whiteville is accused in the June 22 Roanoke Rapids deadly shootings of Mariah Thompson, 15, and Patrick Shane Faircloth, 19, according to a Roanoke Rapids Police Department news release.

Martin, whose early morning capture included multiple drone units and a Wake County K-9 team, was also wanted in a June 11 killing in Columbus County, police and Wake County officials said.

Early Saturday, deputies in Wake County learned Martin was at a home along Anthony Drive, off Lake Wheeler Road, just north of Lake Wheeler near Garner, according to a Wake County Sheriff’s Office news release.

Deputies were sent to the home in the Lakeview Mobile Estates community off Ward Street and took Martin into custody, the news release said.

“We thank the community for being vigilant to help bring a measure of peace to the victims’ loved ones,” Wake County Sheriff Willie Rowe said in the release.

Earlier this week, Roanoke Rapids police said Martin was wanted in the deaths, but warned the public about him.

“He should be considered armed and dangerous,” a news release said. “Do not approach, if seen, call 911,” a wanted flyer said.

The effort to capture Martin early Saturday included drones, a Wake County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit, the N.C. Department of Adult Correction, and the U.S. Marshals Service, Rowe said.

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Police say Martin was given help in an escape the morning of June 22 after officers heard gunfire at the intersection of Vance and 11th West streets.

A police officer nearby spotted a car fleeing the Roanoke Rapids area and chased the vehicle to the Lincoln Heights area, officers said.

The driver of the vehicle, Isaiah N. Cooper, 19, of Whiteville, was detained, interviewed, and released that morning.

But, police have since charged Cooper in the case, accusing him in an arrest warrant of “fleeing from law enforcement from the crime scene with Eric Lamont Martin Jr. in the vehicle.”

An arrest warrant also said that Cooper gave officers false information about Martin with “deceit and intent to defraud.”

A funeral was held on Wednesday in Whiteville for Thompson, who attended Whiteville High School. A GoFundMe has been set up by a former teacher to help her family and other siblings.

Faircloth was a 2025 graduate of Whiteville High School. His obituary said his funeral will be private.

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