HIGH POINT, N.C. — A High Point man was not shot and killed in his own business, as police originally thought. Jack Little, owner of Whetstone Army Navy Surplus, was stabbed to death on Feb. 11. Fourteen guns were stolen during the robbery and homicide.
The District Attorney’s Office announced the clarification in a Guilford County courtroom Wednesday. The three suspects facing charges connected to his murder were in court for their first appearance hearing.
Guards escorted Kemione Grady, 18, of High Point, to the hearing to stand before a judge for a first-degree murder charge. Grady is also charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon and two counts of possession of a stolen firearm.
First-degree murder is punishable by the death penalty or by life in prison without the possibility of parole.
His brother, Larento Grady, 23, of High Point, is charged with accessory after the fact to murder, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. He’s also charged with two counts of possession of a firearm, which each carries a 39-month maximum sentence.
Shirley Harrington, 24, of High Point, is charged with accessory after the fact to murder, possession of a stolen firearm, possession with intent to sell or deliver cocaine and maintaining a dwelling for the purposes of drugs. The drug charges carry a maximum sentence of two years.
Court documents show Harrington and Larento Grady, who attorneys say are a couple, were living together on 1601 Pershing St., just over a mile away from Little’s store.
High Point police and officers with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms executed a search warrant there and at another home on Tuesday morning.
All three suspects were arrested Tuesday morning and the raid continued into the afternoon. Officers removed several items in boxes and bags from the house and court documents say they found at least three of the guns stolen from Whetstone Army Navy Surplus.
Attorneys said Jack Little kept careful record of the guns’ serial numbers in his shop. During the hearing, attorneys said forensic evidence at the scene, fingerprints, and recovery of some of the stolen guns led them to Kemione Grady.
The DA’s office said Kemione Grady is from High Point, but moved to New York, where he attended high school. He dropped out and moved back to High Point and did not enroll back in school.
More than a dozen people invested in the case showed up to the hearing. Harrington’s mother and sister spoke to the judge on her behalf, as she watched the hearing by video.
Harrington’s sister became emotional, saying Harrington “just got mixed up in the wrong situation.”
The judge changed the bonds for all three suspects based on their charges. Kemione Grady was not granted a bond. The judged granted Larento Grady a $2 million secure bond and Harrington a $1 million secure bond.
All three suspects were ordered to have no contact with each other as the court process moves forward. They’re scheduled to be back in court on April 21.