LINCOLN COUNTY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – A man accused of killing his girlfriend’s mother in October was out on bond for shooting and injuring her father this summer, records show.
Deputies were called to a home located along Ginger Lane in Maiden shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, for the report of a cardiac arrest.
A woman, identified as Lesa Armstrong Rose, 63, was found on the floor of the bathroom by family members who arrived home and had called 911, deputies said.
Lincoln County EMS and responding deputies said the wounds discovered on Lesa Rose were not consistent with a natural death.
Michael Steven Ricker, 36, who lived at the Maiden home, was identified as the suspect. He was taken into custody on Sunday, Oct. 22, and charged with first-degree murder.
Records show that Ricker has a criminal past and had been out on bond for attempted murder.
QUEEN CITY NEWS
CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
Ricker had been charged on June 20, 2023, in Catawba County with attempted first-degree murder, possession of a firearm by a felon, and discharging a weapon into an occupied property.
According to court documents, just before 6 p.m. on June 20, 2023, deputies with the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office were called to Tallent Court in Sherrills Ford for reports of a shooting.
As deputies arrived at the scene, they found a man, identified as Terry Rose, suffering from a gunshot wound at his home.
The shooter was identified as Ricker, who was confirmed as the boyfriend of Amber Rose, daughter of Terry Rose, deputies said. Several interviews revealed that the couple had been arguing that day and Ricker pulled out a firearm, shooting several rounds into the Sherrills Ford home. One of the rounds struck Terry Rose.
Following the Sherrills Ford shooting, deputies said Ricker fled the scene. He was later found and arrested at his Maiden home.
He posted a bond in the amount of $55,000, collectively on July 2, 2023, court officials said.
Ricker is being held at the Lincoln County Detention Center without bond on his new charges.
