BEULAVILLE — Police in the small town of Beulaville remained tight-lipped Wednesday about the shooting death of a man there Tuesday night.
Max Alan Turner, 52, has been charged with an open count of murder and is being held in the Duplin County Jail without bond. He is accused of killing Jamie Fountain, according to warrants on file at the Duplin County Courthouse.
Little else about the case has been officially released.
As Beulaville police continue their investigation, officials and residents said such a crime rarely occurs in their small town. The shooting has rocked the otherwise quiet town of 1,200 nestled on N.C. 24 in Duplin County.
“It’s not characteristic of the town at all,” said Scotty Summerlin, the town’s manager.
He said those involved in the shooting were not town residents.
It’s been nearly five years since someone was killed in Beulaville, Summerlin said.
Tommy Atkinson, owner of Mom & Pop’s Grocery Store on N.C. 24, said violent crime was rare in the small town.
“Every now and then it happens, but we ain’t nothing like Jacksonville and Greenville,” he said.
Atkinson said he heard about the shooting Wednesday morning when he opened the store. He said everyone in town was talking about it.
“It’s very seldom this sort of thing happens,” he said.
Turner is accused of shooting Fountain on Bostic Street, behind the BB&T Bank and near a florist shop at 8 p.m. The police station is just a block away. A Beulaville police officer involved in a nearby traffic stop heard the gunshot and responded, said Police Chief Joey Carter, using the terms suspect and victim.
Fountain — still officially described only as a white man — died shortly after paramedics arrived, Carter said. Fountain’s age has not been confirmed.
Turner appeared before a Duplin County District Court judge on Wednesday morning, and a bond hearing is set for Friday.
Police are set to hold a press conference today at 9 a.m. to provide information in the case.
You can reach Lindell Kay at 910-219-8455 or lindell.kay@jdnews.com. Follow him on Twitter and friend him on Facebook @1lindell.