GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — A Gaston County man was convicted of first-degree murder Monday in the 2023 killing of his roommate.
Samuel Colt Usery was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of Michael Drayton Jr.
The conviction stems from March 12, 2023, when police arrived at a Lowell home to find Usery had fatally shot Drayton six times. Officials say the investigation also revealed Drayton’s throat had been cut three times postmortem.
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District Attorney Travis Page and Assistant District Attorney Debbie Gulledge prosecuted the case on behalf of the State of North Carolina.
“Michael Drayton did not deserve to die at the hands of his supposed friend,” District Attorney Page said in a release. “This verdict and sentence ensure that a dangerous individual will spend the remainder of his life behind bars.”
Prosecutors said evidence presented at the trial showed that drug use, particularly fentanyl, contributed to the murder.