On July 21, 2023, 18-year-old Michael Dyveon Smith-Thomas of Hope Mills was shot dead in the 100 block of Chris Road in Lumber Bridge. Deputies found Smith-Thomas deceased at the scene after a report of a shooting around 12:45 a.m. The Robeson County Sheriff’s Office opened a homicide investigation that later identified multiple suspects.

On July 23, after an hours-long standoff at a Rennert Road residence in Shannon, law enforcement arrested 21-year-old Trysten Jacoby Tyler of Lumberton and 36-year-old Kayla Antionette Chavis of Shannon. Both were charged with first-degree murder and felony conspiracy; two juveniles were evacuated from the home and Tyler and Chavis surrendered following deployment of a gas agent. A third suspect, 32-year-old James Roscoe McAllister of Lumber Bridge, was arrested on October 5 by the U.S. Marshals Service Carolinas Regional Task Force and charged with first-degree murder and felony conspiracy. McAllister was out on bond at the time for a 2008 murder charge in the shooting death of David Bullard during a home invasion in Shannon.

The arrests involved multiple agencies and the investigation remains active; authorities say additional charges and arrests are possible. If anyone has information about Michael Smith-Thomas or the shooting, please share what is known.