Two suspects arrested in an October kidnapping and extortion plot, and believed by authorities to be involved in a shooting on Byrd-Yancey-Bass Road the day before, have now received a slew of charges — 40 apiece in fact — in connection with that shooting, which sent two teenagers to the hospital.

Shortly after midnight, in the early morning hours Oct. 8, a report of a shooting was called in to the E-911 Center. Deputies responded to 251 and 268 Byrd-Yancey-Bass Road. Upon arrival, they discovered both residences riddled with apparent bullet holes.

Deputies located two male victims, aged 17 and 18, with minor gunshot injuries to their lower extremities at 251 Byrd-Yancey-Bass Road. They weer outside the residence being tended to by family members. Occupants of 268 Byrd-Yancey-Bass Road were uninjured. According to family members, the two teenaged victims were in the residence when gunshots rang out and bullets started piercing the single-wide trailer.

Through what authorities deemed “an extensive investigation,” the Sampson County Criminal Investigations Division was able to link the suspects responsible to the shooting and obtain felony warrants, a press release from the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office stated.

On Tuesday, deputies served Leonard Edward Wilson III, 21, of 122 Studio Drive, Warsaw, and Isaiah Jeremiah Fennell-Best, 20, of 2274 Herring Drive, Rose Hill, with felony warrants related to the incident.

Both suspects were charged with 38 counts of shooting into an occupied dwelling and two counts of shooting into an occupied dwelling inflicting serious injury.

Wilson and Fennell-Best were placed under $1 million bond apiece for the related charges.

Both suspects were already in custody at the Sampson County Detention Center related to a kidnapping incident that led to their arrest in Clinton on Oct. 10.

“I am pleased with the hard work that all agencies and officers have provided in the arrest of these individuals,” Sheriff’s Lt. Marcus Smith said in a prepared statement Thursday, upon releasing information on the arrests. “Our streets are certainly safer having removed these lawless criminals from them.”

Wilson and Fennell-Best were already in the Detention Center without privilege of bond stemming from a blackmail attempt in which two males were reportedly kidnapped and held for ransom Oct. 9 in Clinton.

On Oct. 9, a kidnapping report came in to the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office, which was assisted by the Clinton Police Department’s Neighborhood Improvement Team. Clinton Police Chief Donald Edwards said Joyce Davis of Faison received what amounted to “basically a ransom call” demanding money for the return of her sons, Thomas Kornegay, 21, and Jason Costin, 17, all of the same Faison address.

“It wasn’t random,” Edwards said then of the incident. “(The victims) knew the suspects.”

It was learned that Kornegay and Costin had gone to an apartment at 700 College St., where Edwards said they were “taken by force, assaulted and held while the suspects attempted to extort money from the mother.” Later Wednesday, officers found the suspects walking with Kornegay on Park Avenue, near Carlie C’s IGA on College Street.

Costin, who had been locked in a closet at the College Street residence, was able to escape and was located by officers near the Carlie C’s.

Three suspects were ultimately taken into custody by Clinton Police Department, including Fennell-Best, 20, who was listed of Curtis Ivey Road, Turkey; Wilson III, listed of Studio Drive, Warsaw; and Ethan Gabriel Autry, 20, of the College Street address in Clinton.

Fennell-Best and Wilson were each charged with two counts of first degree kidnapping, two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, extortion/blackmail, larceny and possession of firearm by a felon. Additionally, Wilson was charged with possession of stolen firearm.

Both Fennell-Best and Wilson were placed in the Sampson County Detention Center without privilege of bond, according to jail records.

Autry was charged with two counts of first degree kidnapping, two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon and extortion/blackmail. He was given $400,000 secured bond.

Fennell-Best was convicted earlier this year in Duplin County of breaking and entering into vehicles and larceny, according to court records in the N.C. Department of Public Safety database. He received a suspended sentence and one year of probation, a probationary status still active at the time of his arrest.

He had two larceny convictions in Sampson before that, one in September 2015 when he was just 15 years old.

Wilson was just released from prison two months ago stemming from an assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury conviction in Sampson in November 2018. He was initially given a suspended sentence and two and half years of probation, but had that probation revoked. He served three months in prison from May to August 2019.

Wilson was on probation at the time of his arrest stemming from the Sampson felony assault.

Back in February 2018, Wilson was placed under a bond in excess of $1 million following an arrest in a shooting at Dogwood Circle, in which Wilson shot into a Honda Accord occupied by two people, including his teenaged girlfriend and her younger brother.

A subsequent multi-agency probe involving the Clinton Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Office and the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office resulted in Wilson’s arrest in Warsaw.

may be connected to the Byrd-Yancey-Bass shooting

They could soon be facing additional charges stemming from a stolen firearm found at the College Street residence.

“This case could be related to other criminal activity,” said Edwards, “and the investigation is continuing.”

Fennell-Best
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_fennell-best.jpgFennell-Best

Wilson
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_wilson.jpgWilson
Suspects in city kidnapping now facing bevy of shooting charges

By Chris Berendt

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Editor Chris Berendt can be reached at 910-592-8137 ext. 2587.