The Goldsboro Police Department (GPD) and Wayne County officials expect to be able to file an open charge of murder against Kenneth Morgan Stancil III in North Carolina by the end of the week.

According to WRAL, law enforcement and town officials discussed the details of the capture of the primary suspect in the shooting Monday at Wayne Community College. Stancil, 20, was found asleep on Daytona Beach in Florida early Tuesday morning and taken into custody in Volusia County.

There he appeared in court later Tuesday morning and is scheduled to appear again Wednesday for an extradition hearing. Speaking at a press conference, GPD Sgt. Jeremy Sutton said Stancil fled Wayne County on a motorcycle immediately after the shooting that left Ron Lane, an 18-year employee of WCC, dead.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol located the bike on I-95 southbound in Lumberton, N.C. Police do not know how he then traveled from that point on, winding up on Daytona Beach, but they contacted other law enforcement agencies in East Coast states along the highway. Police followed various tips and sightings further and further south on I-95.

Around 8 a.m. Monday morning, Stancil fired at one shot at Lane from a 12-guage-pump shotgun with a pistol grip, which police have not been able to locate yet. Sutton said investigators are considering the possibility the shooting was a hate crime, though he would not disclose what they are considering as a motive.

According to Lane's Facebook page, he was in a relationship with another man since Oct. 2002. Stancil's Facebook page shows possible affiliations to white supremacist groups, which the police are actively investigating.

"There was never a hostage situation at Wayne Community College," Sutton said at the press conference. "I can say with confidence that Mr. Stancil had a calculated plan, and he carried out that plan."

Once a student at WCC, Stancil was in a work-study program in Lane's print shop. WCC President Kay Albertson said Stancil was dismissed from the program in Feb. for "poor attendance."

Stancil's mother Debbie told WNCN her son was "terminated without consent." While Stancil was removed from the program, Albertson disputed the use of the word "terminated" since work-study participants are not employees. Debbie Stancil also said her son complained of Lane making unwanted sexual advances.

"The college is operating today, it is a day of healing," Tara Humphries, public information director at WCC, said in a statement at the press conference.

"We'd like to thank the public for their input once the pictures were release yesterday. We'd also like to extend our condolences to the Lane family," Larry Pierce, Wayne County Sheriff, said in a brief address to herald the end of the press conference. "I'd like to also reiterate the thankfulness we have for the extension of help that we got from all agencies. Everyone worked together so well yesterday."

Related