ALBEMARLE — A third arrest was made in the Feb. 8, 2020, homicide of Tristan Edward Crump on May 28. Marcell J. Watkins of Albemarle was arrested and charged with Felony Murder and Felony Conspiracy to Commit Murder.
Donte Jamar Langhorne-Hagins, 25, was the first to be arrested for Crump’s murder. Langhorne-Hagins was located in Virginia and extradited back to Stanly County on April 28. His charges included conspiracy, signaling that authorities believed more than one person conspired to commit the killing and that more arrests were likely.
The second arrest was of Devaunte Daiquon Collins, 27, of Badin. Collins was arrested May 8 and charged with Felony Murder and Felony Conspiracy to Commit Murder. These are the same charges that Watkins, the third and most recent suspect to be arrested, received.
The February killing took place on a Saturday at about 7 p.m. in a residential area of eastern Albemarle. When the police arrived, they found Crump, 33, of Albemarle, in the yard of the residence with gunshot wounds. Crump was taken to Atrium Health Stanly by EMS, where he later passed away from his injuries.
Crump, according to an obituary, was a father of two daughters, Jerzey and Adrianna, and was raised in the area. He attended both Chapel AME Zion Church and the Saints Delight Church, where his funeral was held on Feb. 18.
The APD also announced an arrest two days earlier in a separate homicide, that of Sylvester Corey Maske, 27, of Albemarle. Michael Thomas Allen, 34, of Albemarle was arrested May 26 in Maske’s killing.
The alleged homicide took place on April 3 near the corner of Arey Avenue and Lundix Street in Albemarle. When APD responded to reports of shots being fired, they located a gunshot victim in the area and EMS responded. Maske, the victim, was given care but ultimately succumbed to the injuries.
With help from the State Bureau of Investigations and the Stanly County Sheriff’s Department, APD identified Allen as a suspect and issued a warrant for his arrest. Allen is in custody on other charges.
The Albemarle Police Department asks those with information on either of these cases to call 704-984-9500 or to call 704-984-9511 to leave an anonymous tip.