Wrong man arrested during a funeral for 30-year-old murder

SAME NAME DIFFERENT COUNTY SERIES

LEE COUNTY, N.C. – What began as a funeral for a loved one in North Carolina last week turned chaotic when law enforcement showed up looking for a murder suspect.

The situation became even worse when authorities arrested the wrong person, and the crowd tried to stop Lee County Deputies from taking someone into custody.

The Sheriff’s Office got tips that Willard Smith, who is the suspect for a 1995 murder, was at the funeral.

They detained someone matching his description. Ultimately, he wasn’t the suspect, but his brother instead.

“We never want to upset a family or do anything to disrespect anyone, but we had to go check that out to see if we could locate him. I kind of feel like it was our only opportunity,” Sheriff Brian Estes said.

Estes said going to the funeral was a chance to close a 30-year-old case.

“I feel like they did what they could do to stay safe and to keep everyone there from getting harmed,” Estes said.

Family members said the detained brother was at the sheriff’s office for eight hours before he was released.

Authorities have offered a $10,000 reward for information that would lead to Smith’s arrest.


By Carly Haynes - WRAL