More than a year after his son’s death, a local man is still waiting on justice to be served.
William “Billy” Gibbs III was killed by a member of the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office on Nov. 25 after a fight in the parking lot of a Waffle House.
According to eyewitnesses, Gibbs was shot at by another person after a confrontation. Gibbs III returned fire toward the attacker, who ran. Upon hearing the shots, Officer Joseph Heck fired eight shots at Gibbs — five of them connecting. Gibbs died at Lenoir Memorial Hospital.
Gibbs father, William Gibbs Jr., said he still hasn’t seen the case resolved and doesn’t feel like the State Bureau of Investigation has taken his son’s death seriously.
“My main issue is I’ve kept constantly calling the SBI, and the secretary would say ‘we’re waiting on one piece of information,’” Gibbs said. “I don’t know what it is. All I know is my son was fired upon and they’re acting like it didn’t happen. If I didn’t contact them, they wouldn’t get back with me.”
Lenoir County Sheriff Chris Hill said the State Bureau of Investigation is the agency addressing the matter.
“We didn’t investigate the case,” Hill said. “The SBI did the investigation and there are a number of agents working on the case.”
The officers — Heck and William Shambeau — were put on administrative leave, but have since returned to their posts.
The Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office released a statement the day of the shooting, stating “just after 3 a.m. (Sunday) morning, Deputy Joseph Heck and Deputy William Shambeau were working off-duty at the Waffle House located on US 70 East, Kinston. Heck and Shambeau were inside of the building and walked outside of the Waffle House to make a security check of the parking lot. Deputy Heck and Shambeau observed William Gibbs III of Girl Scout Road, Kinston standing next to a car and firing his handgun at another person in the parking lot. Officers commanded Gibbs to drop the weapon and he did not comply. Deputy Heck then shot Gibbs. Gibbs died later at Lenoir Memorial Hospital from his wounds.”
Gibbs Jr. said he didn’t believe the report because of how his son was raised.
“My children always followed orders,” Gibbs Jr. said. “When anyone said ‘Stop’ or ‘Freeze,’ he knew what to do. I couldn’t see him doing anything more than what he recognized.”
Jennifer Canada, spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Justice, said she was trying to get a statement from the district supervisor, who is not authorized to speak directly with the media due to policies.
The supervisor could not make a statement before press deadline, and several attempts to get in touch with a representative of the SBI were unsuccessful.
An autopsy report by the North Carolina Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Chapel Hill, which was released to the public, stated Gibbs III was shot four times, with the bullets hitting his chest, abdomen and upper thigh.
Gibbs III witnessed the body, and said the report was false.
“My son was shot four times within a six-inch span on his left side and once in his left shoulder,” Gibbs Jr. said. “I work in security, and we’re taught to diffuse situations with minimum force so as not to cause a scene. The officer could’ve shot my son in the leg or arm if he felt like there was imminent danger. Those were kill shots.”
Raken Hart went to a club with Gibbs III the night of the incident. He said he didn’t see the confrontation between Gibbs and the other man, but saw the officers’ actions.
“Billy had his back turned and the cops yelled out ‘Freeze’ and shot him,” Hart said. “Several shots were fired, and they never caught the guy he had the altercation with.”
“I thought they were supposed to tell you to put the gun down first. They shot him beforehand. Billy wasn’t facing the police when they fired.”
Hart said he believed alcohol wasn’t a factor in the shooting.
“Billy wasn’t even drinking,” Hart said. “We were just having a good time.”
Roxanna Wilson, another eyewitness, graduated with Gibbs III from Kinston High School in 2004. She said she couldn’t picture him in a predicament like this.
“He was not the type of person to participate in altercations or beef,” Wilson said. “He was very smart in school and on the honor roll. He was a pleasant, cool and laid-back person.”
Wilson was there and saw the incident.
“I pulled up at Waffle House and Billy’s car and another vehicle tried to take the same parking spot in the parking lot,” she said. “They were a second from hitting each other, and people got out of the cars to make sure neither one was hit.
“There were words exchanged between the people, and then the guys in the other car pulled out their guns. Billy pulled out his, and the next thing I know, I heard the police yelling ‘gun down, gun down,’ shooting while they were saying that. There were a lot of shots fired.”
Gibbs Jr. said his son was someone with plenty of potential and who was doing the right thing in the community.
“He was a part of Who’s Who among American High School Students,” Gibbs said. “He lettered in baseball and football at Kinston High School and played at N.C. State. He came home and was working at Smithfield, paying bills and taking care of his girlfriend and two kids who weren’t even his.
“Billy was a boy, but he was also a man. Even at a young age, he was reading the children’s Bible. He was also a loyal person, and if he said he was your friend, you could call him at any hour of the day and he would help out.”
Gibbs Jr. also said his son’s weapons were all legal.
“Billy had permits, and believed in his right to bear arms,” Gibbs Jr. said. “He collected guns and had paperwork on all of them.”
As Gibbs Jr. continues to wait on the word from the SBI, he said the shooting still hurts and he hasn’t found closure.
“There’s no planning for death when it comes to a shooting,” Gibbs said. “You can plan to lose someone from AIDS, cancer or leukemia, but not for someone who went out to have a good time and party with his friends and sister, only to be gunned down.”
Junious Smith III can be reached at 252-559-1077 and Junious.Smith@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JuniousSmithIII.
The Gibbs family has started scholarship fund at Kinston High School for student-athletes in William ‘Billy’ Gibbs III’s name. Those wanting to make a contribution may contact Shamoni Gibbs at 252-268-4445.