ANSON COUNTY, N.C. — An arrest was made Wednesday in the 2021 homicide case where an Anson County father was killed, authorities said.
Anson County Sheriff’s Office investigators arrested Antoine James Hill.
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He is accused of shooting and killing Masson Sanderson on Oct. 23, 2021, while he was driving on U.S. Highway 52 in the Morven area, investigators said.
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“The suspects followed our victim to a remote area of the county and at that time, open fired on his vehicle,” said Lt. Brian Tice shortly after the crime. “We believe two different weapons were used in this crime.”
They found the suspects’ abandoned GMC Acadia that was stolen out of Gaston County after the shooting.
More arrests are expected.
The Anson County Sheriff’s Office and the State Bureau of Investigation will continue to investigate the case.
The Monroe Police Department helped to catch Hill.
Sanderson’s killing has been a mystery for two years, which left family members with questions of who killed the 19-year-old.
Not even knowing who did it. That was the main thing for us,” said Felicia Wall, the grandmother of Sanderson’s son. “We kept saying, ‘Who would want to do this?’”
Wall and Sanderson’s mother, Raven Lillie, got word Thursday of Hall’s arrest.
“I knew this day was going to come,” Lillie said. “I had faith that this day was going to come. I wish it was sooner, but I had faith.”
One of the things that has made the waiting tough is the fact that Sanderson was a father his son, Coda, was just six months old when he was killed.
“It’s been very hard for me, personally,” Wall said. “Just having watched my grandson grow up without his dad and not be able to see him crawling, his first steps.”
“My son, he was a joy. Everybody liked him,” Lillie said.
Wall and Lillie said they learned that investigators made an additional arrest.
Channel 9 has not been able to confirm that information with deputies.
Sanderson graduated from Wadesboro High School in 2021.
The 19-year-old’s coach said Sanderson had opportunities to play college basketball.
VIDEO: Family hopes to find answers in Anson County man’s death
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