news-record.com

NEWS

Police search for clues in man's killing outside club

Tuesday, June 29, 2010
(Updated 10:55 am)

GREENSBORO Police say leads have been scarce so far in determining who fatally shot a man Saturday morning in a parking lot on High Point Road.

It was the second time the victim had been shot in the past two years.

LaKendrick Lamont Watts, 33, of Hillsborough was shot about 4:20 a.m. in the 2500 block of High Point Road while driving a Ford Excursion, said Capt. Janice Rogers with Greensboro police.

Rogers said Watts and two friends were searching for a parking space to go to the Players Club at 2507 High Point Road.

Watts was trying to back out of a packed parking lot that was crowded with people, when someone fired a shot at his vehicle, hitting him. 

The SUV accelerated and crashed on the other side of High Point Road, flipping onto its roof.

Watts was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound at Moses Cone Hospital.

His friends were not seriously injured from the shooting or the crash.

Rogers said Watts and his friends were in town for Friday night’s SuperJam concert at the Greensboro Coliseum.

After the concert, they visited several nightclubs throughout the city before trying to go to the Players Club.

“Obviously, there were people  who saw what happened, and we are asking them to come forward,” Rogers said.

“We don’t know at this point how the victim and suspect are connected, if they are connected at all. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

The shooter is believed to have fired while standing in the parking lot and is believed to have run toward the Players Club after the shooting.

A description of the shooter was incomplete, and police said they do not have a motive.

It is unclear what type of weapon was used in the shooting.

This is the second time Watts has been the victim of a shooting. He was shot in the stomach during a robbery attempt in Hillsborough in May 2008.

He was sitting in his vehicle in front of his grandmother’s house when three men and a woman, who were attempting to rob him, shot him, according to Raleigh television station WRAL.

After the shooting, the suspects were involved in a high-speed chase with an Orange County deputy. The chase ended  with  a crash in Mebane, where two people were arrested.

In all, four teenagers from Durham were charged in the case, though only two were convicted.

Watts’ mother, Veronica Watts, said her son had spent the past two years recovering from the shooting.

“We start to think we are doing all right and it hits all over again,” she said of her son’s death.

“I never expected to be burying my child.” 

Contact Ryan Seals at 373-7077 or ryan.seals@news-record.com

Accompanying Photos

Margaret Baxter (News & Record)

Want to help?

The police are seeking tips from public. Call Crime Stoppers at 373-1000. Callers remain anonymous and are eligible for cash rewards.

eMail Updates

Advertisement | Advertise with Us

Featured Ads

Search

Advertisement | Advertise with Us
Advertisement | Advertise with Us
Advertisement | Advertise with Us

News & Record Network Sites

User Tools

  • Social Networking
  • RSS
  • Share
  • Sign in to MyNR

Search