LINCOLN COUNTY, N.C. — Three people pleaded guilty and were sentenced to prison Thursday to second-degree murder in the December 2024 killing of a 16-year-old boy in Lincoln County, officials said.
[ READ MORE: Detectives investigate possible homicide after teen’s body discovered in Lincoln County ]
Investigators launched a homicide investigation after the teen’s body was found along Whitehouse Drive. Authorities said the victim had suffered a gunshot wound and appeared to have been killed at another location before being left on the roadside.
Detectives with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office followed leads and gathered evidence that took them to Kings Mountain and South Carolina, where search warrants were executed. Investigators seized several items, including a gun and a vehicle.
Officials said the vehicle was later determined to have been occupied by the victim and all three suspects at the time of the killing.
According to detectives, the suspects intended to rob the victim when he was shot inside the vehicle. Authorities said his body was then dumped on the side of the road near his home.
Investigators said evidence recovered by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Digital Forensics Lab, along with interviews with the suspects, helped establish what happened.
Larue Lipscomb Jr. of Gastonia, Isaiah Lipscomb of Clover and Michael Byrd of Kings Mountain each pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Superior Court Judge Daniel Kuehnert sentenced all three to prison terms ranging from 23 years to 28 years and eight months. The sentences will be served in the custody of the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction.