A man was found shot to death in the front yard of a home on Boyles Road in Lawndale just before 4:30 p.m. yesterday, and by this morning, an 18-year-old was behind bars, charged with murder. Deputies and paramedics tried to save the man, who had a gunshot wound to his chest, but they were unable to revive him. Canyun Castillo appeared in Cleveland County court Wednesday, where a judge denied him bond.
According to WBTV, the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office obtained a search warrant after responding to the Boyles Road address Tuesday. Deputies learned Castillo was at another house nearby on Newfield Court, where they arrested him. He was taken to the Cleveland County jail and appointed a public defender at his court appearance.
Victim Identified as David Heath Smith
Court documents filed in Cleveland County identified the man killed as David Heath Smith, according to WSOC-TV, which reported that investigators had withheld his name in initial statements pending those filings.
Public law enforcement records from 2017 list a 38-year-old David Heath Smith as living at 211 Boyles Road in Lawndale, the same street where Tuesday's shooting occurred, per the Lincoln Times-News. The matching address suggests Smith may have been killed at or near his own home, though neither the sheriff's office nor court filings have confirmed that connection.
Sheriff Says Investigation Is Ongoing
Cleveland County Sheriff Alan Norman said deputies responded quickly to what he called a tragic and serious incident, immediately gathering information, following leads, and pursuing evidence. He told WCNC Charlotte that the investigation remains ongoing and asked anyone with information to contact Cleveland County Crime Stoppers at 704-418-5432.
Investigators have not detailed what relationship, if any, existed between Castillo and Smith, nor disclosed a motive for the shooting. It also remains unclear whether additional charges or co-defendants could emerge as detectives continue processing evidence recovered during the Newfield Court search warrant.
What North Carolina Law Means for the Case
Because Castillo faces a murder charge, he was denied bond under North Carolina law, which presumes against pretrial release for those charged with first-degree murder or other capital offenses unless a Superior or District Court judge grants bail, according to Powers Law Firm. Under North Carolina General Statute 14-17, first-degree murder is classified as a Class A felony carrying a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without parole or the death penalty upon conviction, per Beechler Tomberlin Law.
At 18, Castillo is prosecuted as an adult regardless of the charge, since North Carolina's Raise the Age legislation caps juvenile court jurisdiction at age 17, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.
A Rare Violent Crime in a Small Mill Town
Lawndale is a rural town of roughly 570 to 580 residents along the First Broad River in northern Cleveland County, covering less than one square mile, according to U.S. Census Bureau data compiled by World Population Review. The community, which grew up as a 19th-century textile mill village, is now made up largely of single-story bungalows and ranch homes along rural lanes, with property values running roughly half the Charlotte metro average, per Homes.com.
Norman has led the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office since 2010, winning a third term in 2018 and earning a 2024 appointment to the North Carolina Sheriffs' Education and Training Standards Commission, according to the Shelby Shopper. He has previously pushed for tougher enforcement against violent attacks in the county, a stance he voiced after a sheriff's deputy survived being stabbed twice during an attempted arrest in Shelby in April 2022, an incident in which the suspect was charged with attempted first-degree murder, as reported by WCNC Charlotte.
