Suspect in Spring Lake shooting death captured

Spring Lake, N.C. — Cumberland County detectives say they captured a suspect Sunday wanted in connection with the shooting death of a 50-year-old Spring Lake man.

Howard Barnett, 42, of 639 N. Grogg St., was arrested at the Starlit Motel in Spring Lake, detectives said. He was wanted on first-degree murder charges in the death of Tyronne Broaddus.

Officers responding to reports of gunfire found Broaddus unresponsive outside Barnett's house around 8:45 p.m. Saturday. Broaddus died of his injuries.

The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office is still investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

Barnett was being held Sunday in the Cumberland County Detention Center without bond. His first court appearance was set for Monday afternoon.

Anyone with information about the shooting should call the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office at 910-323-1500 or Crime Stoppers at 910-484-8477.

According to state Department of Correction records, Barnett has spent more than nine years of the past 15 in prison. He was released in May 2008 after serving nearly four years for discharging a firearm into property and possession of a firearm by a felon.

DOC records show that Barnett also served more than five years in the late 1990s for assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious. He has also been convicted of child abuse.