Suspect in landlord shooting death was late on rent
A man who was fatally shot outside a Raleigh auto parts store last month went there to collect overdue rent from the tenant now accused in his death, according to court documents.
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Investigators said Matthew Durwood Calton, 53, phoned his landlord, Jay Gould “Jody” Simmons, and asked to meet him in the parking lot of the Carquest at 2635 E. Millbrook Road on Nov. 23.
That’s where eyewitnesses said a man matching Calton’s description shot Simmons multiple times as the landlord sat in his white pickup truck outside the store. Security cameras also captured a gray Cadillac Eldorado, which was traced back to Calton, fleeing the scene.
Calton was arrested on a first-degree murder charge about six hours later, after exchanging gunfire with Raleigh police officers outside the Creedmoor Crossing Shopping Center. Investigators later determined it was Calton who made the anonymous 911 call that brought officers to the shopping center.
“When officers arrived on scene, they heard one gunshot,” investigators said in a search warrant.
Investigators said Simmons’ relatives confirmed that he left home that morning to
Court documents said Calton was also seen inside the Carquest just before the shooting.
A search of the victim’s car turned up an incomplete payment receipt that bore Calton’s name, according to the warrant.
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