Deputies: Dog dispute leads to fatal shooting in Person County

Authorities were called to the area of 900 Flat Woods Road, in Timberlake, at about 3:30 p.m. When officers arrived to the home, they found Nicholas Antonio Parker, 35, lying in the driveway, and a dead pit bull nearby.

Jerinna Wilkerson, who lives in the area, told authorities she was not home when the shooting happened, but said her daughter was.

"She looked out the window and saw Nick on the ground, and TJ (the dog) was out there, too," Wilkerson said.

Wilkerson said she shares a driveway with Parker and 43-year-old John Brona Turner.

"It has been a feud out here for years," she said.

Wilkerson told authorities Parker was very strict about who came on his land, and most recently he had taken issue with a dog Turner adopted.

Parker's mother-in-law, who wanted to remain anonymous, told WRAL News that he had warned Turner to keep the dog off his property. She said when Parker found the dog on his property, he shot it.

Person County Sheriff Dewey Jones said when Turner found his dog dead, the two men got into an altercation. Parker was shot in the torso five times.

"To escalate to this point, yes we are surprised," Jones said.

Turner was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, authorities said. He remained in the Person County Jail Wednesday night without bond.