MONROE, N.C.,None — A body dumped at the entrance of a Monroe neighborhood is now tied to a violent robbery just hours before.
Monroe police are now calling the death of 24-year-old Robert Lewis Smith a homicide investigation, and are working with SBI and the Union County Sheriff's Office.
Smith's body was discovered just after 6 a.m. Friday near the entrance to Lakeview Estates, a neighborhood behind Monroe High School.
SBI and police crime scene techs worked the scene for several hours before removing the body, though detectives still have not determined how Smith died."There were injuries, but it's not something that we can say what it was, or what caused the injuries," said Monroe Police Chief Debra Duncan.
Eyewitness News has also learned that detectives have tied Smith's death to an armed robbery on Landsford Road in southern Union County, nearly 13 miles away from where Smith's body was found.
According to a sheriff's report, a woman who lives inside the home called 911 just before 1:30 a.m. Friday to report someone had robbed her brother at gunpoint and fired multiple shots at him.A pair of Nike Air Force One sneakers was listed as the stolen property.
An Eyewitness News crew found multiple bullet holes marked by evidence tape at the home Friday afternoon.SBI, sheriff's deputies and police detectives said the investigation is continuing.