Three arrested, two on murder charges, in shooting death of Wakefield High basketball player
Two men face murder charges, with four men charged in total, in connection with last month’s shooting death of 17-year-old Messiah Pitt.
Garner police announced three arrests, while adding that another man remains at large.
Pitt, a Wakefield High School basketball player who had just completed his junior year, was shot and killed after midnight June 19 at a graduation party at the Heather Hills Club House in Garner. According to police investigators, Pitt was not believed to be the intended target of the gunfire, which erupted on Claymore Drive near McNair Glenn Court as party goers walked back to their cars.
“Our investigators have worked around the clock since June 19 to identify and apprehend the persons responsible for the senseless shooting death of Messiah Pitt,” Lt. Mike McIver, Garner Police Department CID Commander, said in a statement. “Although many questions remain, we hope the arrests will provide some closure for the victim’s family, friends, and the community.”
According to the Garner police statement, Courvoisier Massey, 19, and DCario Nelums, 21, both of Durham, are charged with murder in Pitt’s death. Federal authorities assisted in Massey’s arrest in Maryland. He awaits extradition back to North Carolina.
Officers from the Wake County Sheriff’s Office, Durham Police and Fuquay-Varina Police assisted in locating and apprehending Nelums, who was arrested in Durham.
Two other Durham men, 19-year-old Juwan Ra’Se Blue and 20-year-old Donnavan Darnell Holland-Terry, face charges of accessory after the fact to murder in Pitt’s death. Holland-Terry is being held at the Wake County Jail under a $100,000 bond while Blue remains at large.
The investigation remains active, Garner police said. Anyone with information can provide it anonymously to police via the Garner Police Department crime tips line at (919) 890-7318 or GPDtips@garnernc.gov.
This story was originally published July 1, 2021 at 11:32 AM.