One of four suspects is brought here and charged with the murder of Andre Franklin Parker just north of Whiteville. Parker's arms and ankles were taped and he was shot in the head.

By BOB HIGH

Kendrick Lamont Page - one of four suspects being held in South Carolina - made his first court appearance here last week on a charge of first-degree murder in the March 2005 execution-style killing of a Whiteville resident.

The 22-year-old from Maxton is charged with the pistol death of Andre Franklin Parker, 32, in Parker's mobile home in the Campground community just north of Whiteville's city limits.

Three other suspects - all from the Rowland area of Robeson County - are being held by federal authorities in South Carolina on a variety of charges, including several armed robberies, carjackings in Robeson County and several locations in South Carolina, plus a non-fatal shooting in Savannah, Ga.

The three are Ithamar Renee Southern, 20; Thomas Brown, 19, and Romail Leach, who marks his 23rd birthday today (Jan. 2). All have addresses in the Rowland area of lower Robeson County, just across the state line from Dillon County, S.C.

Parker, two other men and a woman were in Parker's mobile home in the T.W. Best Trailer Park on the night of March 16, 2005, when one of the men answered a knock at the door.

Three armed males burst into the home at 10:40 p.m., and quickly used duct tape to restrain Parker. The victim's arms were tied behind his back and his ankles taped to restrict his movements. None of the other two males or the female in the trailer was taped.

The invaders demanded drugs and cash. For some unexplained reason, one of the robbers used a pistol to shoot Parker behind his left ear. One of the other men was struck with a weapon by one of the robbers but otherwise not harmed.

Parker's death was the first of 13 homicides in Columbus County in 2005, the highest such total in recent history.

One ironic twist of Parker's death date was that he was living in the T.W. Best Trailer Park. The mobile home park's namesake Nathaniel "T.W." Best began a prison term of 105 months the same day after pleading here to two counts of trafficking in cocaine.