LUMBERTON — A Shannon man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a deadly 2011 robbery attempt.
Ronnie Lee Lowery Jr. was sentenced to a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 18 years, nine months in prison on Monday after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit robbery with a deadly weapon.
Lowery, along with two co-defendants, Calube Dial and Joshua Chavis, are accused of killing 21-year-old Terry McLauchlin on Sept. 8, 2011, at McLauchlin’s McGirt Gin Road home in Maxton.
Dial pleaded guilty in 2013 and Chavis in 2014. According to District Attorney Johnson Britt, Lowery had confessed to his role in McLauchlin’s death, agreed to testify against Dial in order to have the murder charge dropped and was released on bond.
In May 2013 Lowery was again arrested when Robeson County sheriff’s deputies raided his home and found pills, marijuana and guns, Britt said. The arrest violated Lowery’s plea agreement, which was contingent on him not violating the law. Lowery has been in jail since. The charges from the May 2013 raid were consolidated for judgment Monday.
According to Britt, the murder occurred after an altercation between McLauchlin’s girlfriend and Dial’s girlfriend.
“There was some evidence there had been a discussion of some kind of payback,” Britt said.
Dial was the “primary shooter” and the guns used had been taken from his father’s home, Britt said.
According to Britt, McLauchlin allegedly dealt drugs and “it was believed he had a lot of money at the house.” When the men arrived at McLauchlin’s home, they planned to kick the door open, point their guns at him and demand money. McLauchlin heard the men on the porch and closed the door before they began shooting, Britt said. McLauchlin’s girlfriend and two small children in the home hid in the bathroom, and when they came out, found McLauchlin shot in the head and chest.
Officers then matched shell casings from the home to shell casings at the home of Dial’s father, Britt said.
Dial and Chavis both pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit robbery with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm into occupied property. Dial, of Maxton, was sentenced to a maximum of 20 years, nine months in prison. Chavis, of St. Pauls, was sentenced to a maximum of 13 years, three months in prison.
