RFP Staff/Todd Paris, Photographer
♦ Salisbury Police and the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office sources report that Shawn Alexander Spry, 21. of Salisbury, was shot to death outside an apartment building at 210 S. Link Street after an altercation. A call went out to 911 dispatch at 10:40 a.m. and got a rapid response from both the Salisbury Police officers and Rowan County Sheriff’s office deputies who were busy this a.m. investigating the crime scene.
According to sources both a witness and a suspect are known to area law enforcement.
This shooting is unrelated to the recent double homicide shooting of Dequan Robinson and Anthony Gill at 115 W. Fisher in the Wells Fargo Parking lot.
The Late Shawn Alexander Spry:
Todd Paris,Photographer, and Candidate For Salisbury City Council:
Link Street runs from West Innes Street straight to the gates of the VA Hospital. It runs past a locally acclaimed day care center. There are the remains of fine homes in that neighborhood, many built by medical professionals in the mid-century style. Some appear to have been designed by architects and still have “good bones.” It appears to have fallen on hard times in recent decades with some overgrown yards and houses in ill repair.
SPD was summoned to the 210 S. Link Street today to find the body of twenty-one year old Shawn Spry, who was employed at Custom Glass Products on Harrison Road, in an overgrown area of a local yard. Friends speak well of this young man. He and his girlfriend were raising her 13 year old brother. A witness indicated he died from a single gun shot wound to the chest by someone he knew at a meeting that turned into an armed robbery.
I struggled with this, however, in many murders folks know things and don’t tell in the City of Salisbury. Sometimes it’s out of fear of retaliation or concern that the Fibrant deficit razed SPD does not have enough manpower to protect them or competence to solve the case anyway. I get this. My office received a threat over Christmas break that if I didn’t stop writing about “gang stuff” in RFP that my office would be shot up. This time, two men have come forward on the record. Brandon Barker and Devin Sells, after talking to the only eyewitness that later fled the scene, have come forward and named the witness and the alleged murderer on their FaceBook pages. Both gave permission to print their names here. Devin continues to try to talk to the witness and get him to contact the police, but so far, has not been successful. Both have given statements as to what they know to SPD and the Sheriff’s Office.
RFP firmly believes in the American concept of “innocent until proven guilty” and thus has decided to skip printing the name of the witness or alleged murderer until and unless there is an official word that either or both are being sought or captured. Then again, you can always go to either gentleman’s FaceBook page and read for yourself.
This sort of public spiritedness and willingness to come forward may, with good police work and new competent leadership on City Council, eventually take the killers off of our streets. We had not met Devin before, but you might remember veteran Brandon Barker from a while back in RFP when he and his crew walked down Old Plank Road.
Our hearts go out to a 13 year-boy and a nice, responsible young lady who have lost their love and protector tonight. Our caps are off to two young men, good friends of the deceased, who have placed themselves in harm’s way to do what they believe is right. May there be many more.
Photo Gallery of Homicide Scene at 210 S. Link Street, Salisbury, N.C.:
Location 210 S. Link Street, Salisbury, N.C.:
Citizens having any knowledge about this crime are urged to call the Salisbury Police at 704-638-5333. If you fear retribution, want to remain anonymous and possibly collect a reward of up to $1,000, information can be submitted 24/7 via the web: http://tips.salisburyrowancrimestoppers.org/ or by calling the Salisbury-Rowan Crime Stoppers at 1-866-639-5245.
