Police: Thomasville murder suspect robbed Roanoke Rapids Rite Aid

Roanoke Rapids police said Lloyd Wayne Franklin, 34, of 2818 S. Main St. Ext. in Denton, is suspected of robbing a Rite Aid pharmacy on East 10th Street at 6:55 p.m. Tuesday. Police said that a man, believed to be Franklin, came into the pharmacy and handed over a note demanding controlled substances and brandished a gun. The man left after store employees complied with his demands.

The man was wearing a dark-colored long-sleeved shirt with white stripes across the chest and sleeves, khaki colored pants, brown shoes and a royal blue hat with silver writing. He left the Rite Aid in a dark-colored Chrysler minivan heading east on N.C. Highway 158. Police said it appeared as though someone else was in the van.

Authorities believe Jennifer Lanning, 38, is traveling with Franklin.

"We don't know why he came this way," said Roanoke Rapids Police Chief Chuck Hasty.

The Rite Aid robbery is one of many crimes police believe Franklin has committed since Thursday, when the bodies of David McSwain, 82, and Joan McSwain, 78, were found in their Davidson County home. Police believe Franklin is responsible for their deaths.

Franklin is also wanted in connection to the Thursday robbery of a CVS in Aberdeen and a drug store robbery in Georgetown, S.C., on Monday.

Authorities believe that a gun and dark blue minivan used in some of the robberies were stolen from the McSwain home.

Hasty said that police believe Franklin is responsible for the Rite Aid robbery because the method, suspect description and surveillance images from that crime and the previous robberies appear to match.

The Roanoke Rapids Police Department has obtained warrants on Franklin for robbery with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm by a felon, and possession of stolen goods.

The U.S. Marshal's Fugitive Task Force, South Carolina officials, and the Highway Patrol are all involved in the two state search to find Franklin and Lanning.

Hasty said there is concern over where the couple may surface next.

"He is armed and dangerous. I would not approach him," said Hasty.

Anybody with information is asked to call teh Roanoke Rapids Police Department at 252-533-2898 or Halifax County Crime Stoppers at 252-583-4444.