Sampson County Man To Face Additional Charges In Connection With Fatal Wreck

Defendant Jamie Reyes has been re-arrested and charged with two additional counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection to the deaths of Joe Bass Jr. and Penelope Anderson.

After discussing the case with the Highway Patrol, the Sampson County Sheriff said evidence warranted the new felony charges.

Involuntary manslaughter, a Class F felony, is defined as the unintentional death of a human being due to gross or criminal negligence.

Reyes' bond was increased from $41,000 to $91,000. He was being held in the Sampson County jail.

In all, Reyes is charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of misdemeanor death by vehicle, drving without an operator's license, driving without insurance, failure to stop at a stop sign, driving without a registration, and felony hit and run.

The charges stem from the wreck that occurred Nov. 22. The 19-year-old Reyes ran a stop sign on Highway 24 near Roseboro, causing an accident that involved five cars, four of which caught on fire.

Bass and Anderson, both of Clinton, were killed. Reyes fled the scene, but authorities found him at a house a few miles away.

Another person involved in the accident, Stephen Lee Horner Jr., of Garner, was trapped inside his vehicle before two passing motorists stopped to pull him out.

According to Sampson County investigators, USMC Lt. Col. Kenneth W. Lemoult of Jacksonville and Orlando N. Jones of Fayetteville rushed to Horner's vehicle and safely removed him moments before his car became engulfed by the fire.

Horner received severe injuries to his lower body that required major surgery. But authorities at the scene said Lemoult and Jones saved Horner's life.