The city of Wilson saw an increase in its homicide rate last year.

Wilson police investigated seven killings in 2020, compared to two in 2019. All seven homicides resulted in a 100% clearance rate, and officers arrested 14 people in connection with the cases, according to police and reports.

2020 HOMICIDES

• On Jan. 21, police were dispatched to the 2100 block of Cockran Street to check on a resident’s welfare. Officers tried to make contact with 54-year-old Felicia Stokes, and after failed attempts, police entered the home and found Stokes deceased.

After further investigation, her death was deemed a homicide in mid-December. Her estranged husband, Thomas W. Stokes Jr., was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Felicia Stokes was strangled and suffocated, according to her autopsy. There were also “domestic issues” surrounding her death, the autopsy report states.

• On May 2, police responded to a 9:43 p.m. shooting call in the 800 block of Selma Street. That’s when officers found Amaru C. Carroll-Lee suffering from a gunshot wound. First responders attempted lifesaving efforts, but police said the 21-year-old died at the scene. A day later, police arrested 44-year-old Terry L. Parker of Wilson on charges of first-degree murder and first-degree burglary in connection to Carroll-Lee’s death. Police subsequently arrested 35-year-old Telly S. Parker of Wilson on the same charges.

• On May 29, police responded to a 1:43 p.m. call to the 1700 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway. Officers found 30-year-old Brandyn O. Gorham, who police say died from a gunshot wound. Two days later, police arrested 48-year-old Larry D. King Jr. of Wilson, who is charged with an open count of murder in Gorham’s killing.

• On June 25, police found the body of 54-year-old Billy Ray Marshall on the 1200 block of Ward Boulevard. Wilson police deemed Marshall’s death a homicide in the investigation’s early stages. Less than three months later, police and the U.S. Marshals Carolina Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested 43-year-old Khincey N. Barnes and charged him with first-degree murder in Marshall’s death. Barnes is a convicted felon who served time in prison for manslaughter as a teenager, records show. Marshall’s autopsy showed that he died as a result of a stab wound to the neck.

• On June 28, police responded to a 4:56 p.m. call to the 1000 block of Randolph Street. That’s where they found 78-year-old Donald G. Aycock, who died of a gunshot wound, police said. Two days later, police charged 18-year-old Alin J. Gatling with murder. Police later arrested three others, including 19-year-olds Dalashon R. Davis and Keith L. Johnson and 21-year-old Demetrius I. Shaw, who were each charged with acting as an accessory after the fact to felony murder.

Davis and Johnson each face an additional charge of felony obstruction of justice. Police haven’t disclosed a potential motive in the killing.

• On July 26, police responded to a 2:42 a.m. shooting call at 709 Academy St. and found 24-year-old Tylyike Pigford, who died as a result of a gunshot wound, police said. Less than two months later, police and U.S. Marshals Carolina Regional Fugitive Task Force members arrested 27-year-old Treshaun R. Jones, 32-year-old Larrus D. Jones and 33-year-old Horace Williams. All three are currently charged with first-degree murder. Pigford was shot and killed outside his grandparents’ home in the early morning hours of July 26.

In a previous interview, Pigford’s mother, Dawn Cox, said her family held a 74th birthday party for her stepfather at his Academy Street home on July 25. Her son lived with his grandparents.

Before Cox, of Goldsboro, went to sleep, her son told her would see her later. Cox said she awoke to the sound of two gunshots. When Cox opened the side door of her parents’ home that night, she heard a woman screaming. Cox scanned the front yard. She said she saw more than a dozen people standing there. Cox said she knew none of them. She saw her son lying in the driveway.

Pigford, a Fike High School graduate, earned his degree in criminal justice from Fayetteville State University in 2018.

• On Aug. 9, police responded to a 5:33 p.m. shooting call to the 5100 block of Archers Road. That’s when they found 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant suffering from a gunshot wound. Officials tried to save the little boy, who was taken to Wilson Medical Center and later died. Cannon had been riding his bicycle in his father’s driveway and playing outside prior to being shot. Police subsequently charged 25-year-old Darius Nathaniel Sessoms with first-degree murder.

Sessoms, who fled the scene, was captured at a Goldsboro home the following day.

Sessoms’ parents, Garland and Carolyn, said their son returned home that day without coming inside. The Sessomses said they heard a gunshot, ran outside and found their son running around with a gun and acting strange.

The Sessomses, who were neighbors of Cannon’s father, who has since moved, said their son appeared to be hallucinating. They also said they feared for their lives. Sessoms’ father said he managed to get the gun out of his son’s hand.

In September, police charged 21-year-old Aolani Takemi Marie Pettit with acting as an accessory after the fact. Arrest warrants show Pettit helped Sessoms escape by providing “transportation away from the city of Wilson.”