The Latest (4/2/21):
LUMBERTON, N.C. — A Lumberton man was charged with first-degree murder Thursday in a road rage shooting last week that left a Pennsylvania woman dead.
Dejywan Floyd, 29, was arrested early Thursday at an apartment complex, the Robeson County Sherriff’s Office said in a news release.
This Thursday, April 1, 2021, photo provided by the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office, in Lumberton, N.C., shows Dejywan Floyd, of Lumberton. Floyd has been charged with first-degree murder in a road rage shooting the week before that left a Pennsylvania woman dead. (Robeson County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
Floyd is charged in the fatal shooting of Julie Eberly, 47, of Manheim, Pennsylvania. The arrest comes a week after Eberly was killed when shots were fired from a car on Interstate 95, just north of Lumberton, as Eberly and her husband were driving to the beach to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Ryan Eberly was not injured.
The sheriff’s office said an investigation revealed a road rage encounter unknowingly developed after the victim’s GMC Yukon came close to Floyd’s Chevrolet Malibu during a merge into a lane. Floyd then allegedly pulled to the victim’s passenger side, where Julie Eberly was seated, rolled down his window and fired multiple shots into the passenger door. Witnesses said the suspect then drove off. Ryan Eberly was not injured.
In addition to the murder charge, Floyd is also charged with discharging a weapon into an occupied property.
Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said surveillance footage provided by dozens of businesses and residents helped track Floyd’s path before and after the shooting.
“Regardless of the circumstances, no one deserved to be murdered while traveling our nation’s highways,” Wilkins said in the release.
Ryan Eberly told LNP for a story published Monday that he may have accidentally forced another driver over to the shoulder of I-95 when he switched lanes before seeing the other car, but that he did not escalate the situation.
Eberly said he had switched into the right lane to go around a slower driver and became aware of the Malibu driving on the shoulder. The Malibu’s driver rolled his window down and gestured, Eberly said.
Eberly said he responded by gesturing that he was sorry and returned to the left lane. Moments later, he noticed the Malibu following closely behind him before the driver then pulled alongside, rolled down the window and started shooting, Eberly said.
“I looked over. The passenger window of my car was shattered. My wife called my name,” Eberly said.
Floyd is being held without bond in the Robeson County Detention Center. It could not be immediately determined if Floyd has an attorney who could comment.
Floyd has served several prison terms over the last decade for assault with a deadly weapon, breaking and entering, possession of a firearm by a felon and other charges, according to state prison records.
The Latest (3/30/21):
Investigators have identified the car involved in a road rage shooting on a North Carolina highway that left a Pennsylvania woman dead last week.
The Robeson County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Monday that the suspect vehicle is a silver, four-door Chevrolet Malibu manufactured between 2008 and 2013 with a North Carolina license plate. It’s believed to be the car from which someone fired shots that killed Julie Eberly, 47, of Manheim, Pennsylvania. Her husband, Ryan Eberly, was not injured. The couple was driving to the beach.
Media Release
Monday, March 29, 2021
Robeson County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s assistance in the…
Posted by Robeson County Sheriff’s Office on Monday, March 29, 2021
According to the sheriff’s office, the couple’s vehicle came close to the shooter’s vehicle while merging into another lane on Interstate 95 last Thursday. Julie Eberly was taken to a nearby hospital, where she died.
The car Eberly was heading south on I-95, north of Lumberton. The city is south of Fayetteville and near the South Carolina state line.
Original Story (3/26/21):
LUMBERTON, N.C. — Authorities in North Carolina say that a Pennsylvania woman has died after being shot in a road rage incident on Interstate 95 as she and her husband drove to the beach.
A Fayetteville news outlet reports that authorities were still searching for her killer on Thursday.
The shooter was driving a silver or gray, 2010 model Chevy Malibu or Impala with tinted windows. It also possibly had chrome around the window frame.
The Robeson County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that the woman who died was Julie Eberly, 47 of Manheim, Pennsylvania. Her husband, Ryan Eberly, was not injured.
Authorities said the Eberly vehicle unknowingly came close to the shooter’s vehicle while merging into another lane.
“The suspect rolled down his window and fired multiple shots into the passenger door, one of which struck Julie Eberly,” the release said.
The car she was in was heading south near Exit 22, north of Lumberton. The city is south of Fayetteville and near the South Carolina state line.
“This was an innocent family from Pennsylvania headed to the beach for a vacation,” Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said. “Thankfully they had left their six children at home with grandparents but now these kids have to live with the thought of their mother being murdered … in such a cowardly and senseless way.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriff’s office at 910-671-3170 or email sheriff@robesoncoso.org.
