Arrest made after emergency officials find man shot to death in car

COLUMBUS COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) - The Columbus County Sheriff’s Office has charged a man from Tabor City with murder in connection to a fatal shooting.
According to the sheriff’s office, emergency officials were called to respond to a wreck in the 14000 block of Swamp Fox Highway East in Nakina on Sept. 9, 2019. When they arrived, authorities found 34-year-old Mitchell Allen Smith, of Whiteville, had died from an apparent gunshot wound.
Criminal investigators arrested Lakeithy Gene Keller, 44, of Tabor City, in connection to the shooting on Sept. 12, 2019.
He’s charged with one count of murder and was booked into the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center with no bond.
The Columbus County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division is requesting anyone with information in this case to please contact Detective Sergeant M. Strickland at 910-640-6629. This investigation is ongoing.
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