Richlands, NC: Richlands man held in wife's homicide

July 20, 2011 5:39 PM
LINDELL KAY and MIKE MCHUGH
Updated at 8:48 p.m.

Authorities say a man being held in connection to his wife’s shooting death is a military deserter.

The suspect was being questioned at the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office late Wednesday night while crime scene investigators were processing the site of the shooting, including taking photographs of the alleged victim in her livingroom.

The names of the suspect and decedent — identified only as a married couple in their 20s — are being withheld by authorities pending next-of-kin notification. The homicide appears to be the result of a domestic dispute, Sheriff Ed Brown said.

“The woman died from a projectile from a gun,” Brown said.

The suspect is believed to have shot his wife at 3 p.m. at 184 Wilson Avenue, which is just north of Richlands.

Another couple living in the home was also being questioned. There were no children living in the address, Brown said.

The suspect has been on unauthorized leave from the Marine Corps since April, Brown said based on information Sheriff’s Sgt. Linwood Darden uncovered during the investigation.

“The Sheriff’s Office is familiar with this residence,” Brown said. “We’ve been here before for incidents involving firearms in the last 30 days.”

Neighbors say the couple moved into the home less than a month ago.

Residents along Wilson Avenue, a gravel road less than a mile off U.S. 258, told The Daily News the community was quiet until the couple moved into the doublewide at the end of the cul-de-sac.

“They’d drive down this road 70 mph,” said a neighbor who did not want to be identified. He said one of the residents of the home ran a yellow Mustang into a roadside ditch Tuesday night.

A destroyed rental sign could be seen at the sight of a crash on Wilson Avenue and damage to the front of a Mustang parked at 184 Wilson Ave. was visible from the road Wednesday afternoon.

The couple’s violent history predated Wilson Avenue. A year ago, while residing in another part of Richlands, the husband was the victim in a shooting incident in which the decedent was a suspect, authorities said.

Investigators also confirmed the suspect was charged in November with assault on a female and December and May with violating a protective order. The outcomes of those cases were not immediately clear.

Man charged with murder in wife's death
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July 21, 2011 7:43 AM
LINDELL KAY
A Richlands man has been charged with murder in the shooting death of his wife.

Juan Carter Hernandez, 24, of Wilson Avenue, was charged early Thursday morning by the Onslow County Sheriff's Office with an open count of murder in the death of Kandace Hernandez.

Kandace Hernandez was shot and killed around 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.

An outstanding warrant for violating a protective order against a different woman was also served on Juan Hernandez.

He is accused of violating a protective order by trespassing at the home of a Newport woman in May, according to warrants.

Juan Hernandez is being held without bond with a first appearance scheduled for Thursday morning. He was ordered to provide a DNA sample and fingerprints per N.C. General Statute 15A.