FORSYTH COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — On Thursday, a Forsyth County jury unanimously found Harry Lee Hunter, Jr. guilty of:
- first-degree murder
- discharging a weapon into an occupied vehicle in operation
- possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
The trial started on Monday.
Judge William A. Long sentenced Hunter, Jr. to life in prison without parole followed by a consecutive term of 19 months minimum, and 32 months maximum.
The State of North Carolina was represented by Assistant District Attorneys Elisabeth Dresel and Benjamin White.
The defendant was represented by attorney Jerry Jordan.
On April 30, 2016, around 8 a.m., officers with the Winston-Salem Police Department responded to the EMS Station at 911 E. Fifth St. following reports of a shooting. They found that EMS was already on the way to the hospital with Joshua Brown, 27, who had been shot.
Despite receiving emergency medical treatment, Brown passed away in the emergency department.
WSPD investigators learned Brown was at a party in the 800 block of North Cameron Avenue. While there, he played cards with the defendant.
Later, as they both were leaving, witnesses testified that the defendant pulled out a gun and pointed it at Brown’s head.
The owner of the home intervened and calmed the situation down. She then agreed to take the remaining people at the party home.
She pulled her minivan up to the road, and the defendant and Brown approached the van. As Brown was getting ready to get in the van, the defendant started shooting without any provocation.
The victim was hit as well as another person getting into the van. Bullets were later found embedded in the driver’s seat where the homeowner had been seated as well as in the front passenger door.
Casings discharged from the murder weapon were found on the street as well as in the van. All firearm evidence was tested and found to have come from the same gun.
After the shooting, the defendant ran away between houses to escape. He was found weeks later by the United States Marshal Service in Florida.
An autopsy revealed that Brown had been shot twice. He was shot once in the back and once under his left arm, fatally damaging his heart and lungs and killing him.
