Durham man killed in 2024 was being robbed at home, autopsy states
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- Gary Singletary, 52, was fatally shot Dec. 4, 2024, at his Durham home.
- Autopsy documents say his door had been kicked in and he had apparently been robbed.
- Torrico Edwards Jr., 32, was arrested last month in Singletary’s death.
A Durham man fatally shot in 2024 was apparently killed in a robbery, according to documents released to The News & Observer this week.
Gary Singletary, 52, died Dec. 4, 2024, at his Bertland Avenue apartment, The N&O previously reported. Police were called to a report of a gunshot wound shortly before 3 p.m. that day.
Singletary was pronounced dead at the scene. He was last known to be alive about 11 a.m., when he spoke with his family on the phone, according to an investigative report by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
“He did not answer calls after that and family became concerned,” the report states. “His niece, nephew, and two sons came to the apartment to check on him. They found the apartment door had been kicked in, with the lock plate in the living room ten feet away.”
Singletary was face-down on a couch in his bedroom, according to the report. A family member called 911, and paramedics pronounced Singletary dead from a gunshot wound to the thigh .
“There were bloody footpints from the bedroom, down the hallway, and down the stairs to the parking lot,” the report states. “There were also blood spatters in the hallway outside the bedroom, approximately 4 feet up the wall, and it was suspected the suspect may have been wounded.”
It wasn’t clear if the footprints belonged to a suspect, family members or any of the first responders , according to the report. A neighbor reported hearing someone running up the stairs around 11 a.m. before what sounded like a fight and “a single muffled shot.”
“Neighbor stated it was quiet for a moment, then he heard what sounded like ‘panicked footsteps’ running down the outside steps,” the report says.
Another neighbor said they heard noises and saw someone in a black hoodie and black mask jump into a car as someone yelled, “Go, go,” according to the report.
Investigators believed Singletary’s bedroom may have been searched, as a chair he’d been on was upside down, the report says.
It’s not clear when Singletary was injured, but his autopsy found he died after a gunshot wound to his left lower leg injured his femoral artery.
The case remained quiet until last month, when CBS17 reported Torrico Edwards Jr., 32, of Durham was arrested in Singletary’s killing.
It’s not clear from court documents why Edwards allegedly targeted Singletary, though his Oct. 27 indictment on murder and robbery charges claims he stole Singletary’s cellphone.
Edwards’ criminal past includes several past instances of robbery and assault with handguns, according to court records:
- Edwards pleaded guilty Jan. 4, 2023, to assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury and common law robbery in a September 2020 incident in Johnston County. He was sentenced to a minimum of two years and two months and a maximum of three years and eight months in prison, with 537 days’ credit.
- He submitted an Alford plea, meaning he didn’t admit guilt but recognized there was enough evidence for his conviction, to a charge of possession of a firearm by a felon in Durham County.
- Edwards pleaded guilty Oct. 17, 2018, to misdemeanor larceny in a September 2017 incident in Durham County and was sentenced to two months in jail.
- He pleaded guilty Jan. 11, 2017, to resisting a public officer and misdemeanor breaking or entering in a 2016 incident in Durham County.
- Edwards pleaded guilty Feb. 7, 2014, to assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury and possession of a firearm by a felon in an August 2012 incident in Durham County.
- He pleaded guilty March 5, 2012, to possession of a firearm by a felon in Durham County.
- Edwards pleaded guilty Aug. 24, 2011, to breaking and/or entering and felony larceny in Raleigh.
- He was convicted in October 2009 of possession of a handgun by a minor in Durham County.
Edwards also has a pending charge of fleeing/eluding arrest with a motor vehicle tied to a Dec. 7 incident in Morrisville, according to court records. He remained in jail without bail as of Thursday afternoon.
