Trio charged with murder handed more charges

Published 8:56 pm Monday, November 25, 2013

Three people charged last month for the murder of a New York man in Pitt County were given more felony charges by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office this month.

Lester Gordon Drake, 60, Harold James Drake, 53, and Nakijah Latifa Howard, 29, all of Harahan Road, Grifton, were charged with the murder of Anthony LaBarr, 59. An anonymous tip on Sept. 21 alerted authorities to badly decomposed remains in the woods near Grimesland, on land owned by one of the Drakes’ brother-in-law. The remains were located by a K-9 unit.

According to a press release from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, the Drake brothers and Howard also broke into a home on Mouth of the Creek Road in Blounts Creek on Sept. 10, stealing five fishing rod and reel combos. Working with the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office, investigators with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office recovered the stolen goods and returned the items to the owner.

The Drakes and Howard were each charged with one count of felony breaking and entering and one count of larceny after breaking and entering, in addition to the first-degree murder charges they already face.

A Pitt County magistrate set an additional $50,000 secured bond for each.