Suspect in Farmville triple homicide charged in plot to kill Pitt sheriff
One of the men charged with killing three people during an April robbery of a Farmville convenience store was charged Tuesday with plotting to kill Pitt County Sheriff Neil Elks, his wife and a prosecutor's child, authorities said.
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Willie Odell Whitehead Jr., 24, of Pinetops, was charged with two counts each of solicitation to commit first-degree murder and solicitation to commit first-degree kidnapping. Bond on the four charges was set at $5 million, and he remains in the Pitt County jail.
Whitehead, Antwan Andre Anthony, 29, of Bethel, Xavier Montel Shamble, 20, Farmville, and Raekwon Terrell Blount, 15, of Snow Hill, were charged with three counts each of first-degree murder and other charges after three employees of the Hustle Mart were shot and killed during an April 1 robbery.
Mokbel Mohamed "Sam" Almujanhi, 16, was the son of the store owner, and the other two victims, Nabil Nasser Saeed Al'mogannahi, 26, and Gaber Alawi, 24, were also relatives.
Investigators determined that Whitehead was plotting to secure his release from jail by kidnapping Elks and his wife and a child of a Pitt County assistant district attorney and then killing them if needed. Whitehead apparently discussed the plot with other inmates and people he contacted outside the jail, and an informant helped investigators confirm the existence of the plot, they said.
Three other people have been charged in the Hustle Mart shootings. Ashley Dorthell Johnson, 23, of La Grange, and Zipporah Rochell Purvis, 24, of Farmville, face accessory charges, while Valerie Denise Blount, 30, of Snow Hill, was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.
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