LUMBERTON, N.C. (WNCN) – Authorities arrested the man they say is responsible for shooting and killing a mother of six from Pennsylvania during a road-rage incident last week on Interstate 95 in Robeson County.
Dejywan R. Floyd, 29, of Lumberton, is charged with first-degree murder and discharging a weapon into an occupied property in connection with last week’s fatal shooting. He was arrested at approximately 12:38 a.m. Thursday at the Parkview Apartments in Lumberton, the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office said.
Julie and Ryan Eberly were headed from Pennsylvania to South Carolina on March 25 to celebrate their seventh anniversary. Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said the Eberly’s vehicle came close to Floyd’s vehicle during a merge near Exit 22.
The suspect then drove up to the passenger side where Julie was, rolled down his window, and fired several times into the Eberly’s vehicle, the sheriff’s office said.
Witnesses said the suspect sped off, got off the interstate on Exit 22, and crossed over the bridge coming into Lumberton.
Ryan Eberly was driving and was not injured, but Julie Eberly died from her injuries.
An anonymous Robeson County resident initially donated $10,000 as a reward for information leading to an arrest. The sheriff’s office said Tuesday that since then, more donations have come in, doubling the reward to $20,000.
Monday night, the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office said it identified the Floyd’s vehicle from surveillance footage. It is a silver four-door Chevrolet Malibu. Deputies believe it was manufactured between 2008 and 2013. It has tinted windows and chrome trim around the window frame.
Wilkins released a statement in Thursday morning’s press release saying:
The arrest of Floyd is the direct result of law enforcement agencies and the community working together. The surveillance footage provided to investigators by dozens of cooperating businesses and residents were critical elements in the tracking of Floyd’s path in Cumberland County prior to the shooting and throughout Lumberton and beyond after the shooting. Regardless of the circumstances, no one deserved to be murdered while traveling our nation’s highways. I am proud of the investigative work put forth by the law enforcement agencies that came together as one to bring this case to a successful conclusion.”
Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins
Floyd is being held in the Robeson County Detention Center without bond and has his first court appearance scheduled for this morning.
The investigation into the murder is ongoing, the sheriff’s office said.
Anyone with additional information about the case is asked to call the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office at 910-671-3170 or email sheriff@robesoncoso.org.
