On October 15, 2024, 21-year-old Arthur Knight Acosta and 32-year-old Jefferson Taylor Duggins were fatally shot while working at a job site in the 3600 block of Yarborough Road near Hope Mills, North Carolina. Both men, employees of a window cleaning and pressure washing company, were found dead near their work truck by a co-worker who alerted law enforcement. The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office identified 42-year-old Desmund Louis Moore of Fayetteville as the primary suspect in the double homicide, and arrest warrants were issued charging him with two counts of first-degree murder and discharging a weapon into an occupied property.

A high-speed pursuit in Mount Airy ended when Moore’s vehicle collided head-on with another car; he and two passengers fled on foot. During the manhunt Moore exchanged gunfire with officers, killing a police K-9 named Draco; officers returned fire and Moore was found dead at the scene. The two passengers were taken into custody, and one was later charged with failing to remain at the scene of an accident.

Acosta’s family described him as hardworking, kind, and devout; his sister Guinevere Myskey launched a GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses. Duggins, a father of five, was remembered as caring and outgoing and active in biking and hockey circles; his wife, Crystal Duggins, called the loss senseless. The motive for the shootings remains under investigation. Did anyone in the Yarborough Road or Hope Mills area see anything that could help investigators?