Just after 6 a.m. on Sunday, August 16, gunfire erupted outside the Day Break Apartments on East First Street in Newton, sending residents scrambling and leaving bullet holes in three separate units and a parked vehicle. No one was hurt, but five people were inside the apartments that were struck. More than two weeks later, police have made arrests, and one suspect now faces an attempted murder charge that could keep him behind bars without bond.
Newton Police officers responded to 911 calls of shots fired at the complex at approximately 6:13 a.m., according to WHKY. Investigators later identified two Newton men as suspects, according to WCCB Charlotte, which reported that the shooting targeted a male victim who was staying at the apartment complex. Court arrest warrants reviewed by investigators show the weapon used was a .40-caliber handgun, and filings in Catawba County confirmed that multiple rounds were fired from it, per Catawba Valley News & Weather.
Five Felony Counts Tied to Struck Apartments
33-year-old Letia Jamel Lyerly of Newton was served with arrest warrants Monday charging him with one count of attempted first-degree murder, one count of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, and five felony counts of discharging a weapon into occupied property, according to WHKY's report. That marks a fuller accounting than WCCB Charlotte's initial report of two discharge counts, with court documents indicating each of the five counts corresponds to an individual resident inside the three apartment units struck by gunfire.
Lyerly was arrested at 2:30 a.m. Monday and held without bond at the Catawba County Detention Center after a magistrate designated the offenses as violent, requiring that bond be set instead by a District Court judge, the same outlet's report notes. Under North Carolina General Statutes governing attempted first-degree murder, the charge is prosecuted as a Class B2 felony, according to a UNC School of Government analysis, since state law punishes attempted felony offenses one class lower than completed crimes.
Court Records Show Prior Missed Hearing
Court records reviewed by the same account show Lyerly had a pending legal matter in Newton stemming from a May 2026 traffic citation for an expired tag and driving with a revoked license, which resulted in an August 13 failure-to-appear order — issued just three days before the apartment shooting.
25-year-old Dillion Lamont Staton was arrested Friday, August 28, on seven felony counts of accessory after the fact, according to WCCB Charlotte's reporting. Investigators accuse Staton of knowingly acting as the getaway driver for Lyerly and failing to report the shooting to 911, with WHKY noting his seven counts directly correspond to the individual charges Lyerly faces. Staton received a $200,000 secured bond, per WCCB Charlotte.
Second Shooting Into Occupied Apartments This Month
Both men are Newton residents and both are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. Investigators have not disclosed a motive for why the male guest staying at the complex was targeted, and it remains unclear whether the .40-caliber firearm used in the shooting has been recovered.
The case echoes another recent Catawba County prosecution: Newton man sentenced for Hickory apartment shooting after firing multiple rounds into occupied units. Newton, the county seat of Catawba County with an estimated 2026 population of 13,935, also saw a violent shooting at a Love's Truck Stop earlier this year following a botched kidnapping attempt investigated by Newton Police. State Bureau of Investigation data for 2024 recorded 54 violent crime offenses and 257 property crime offenses in the city, according to the ERI Economic Research Institute.
Newton Police say the investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with additional information is urged to call Investigator J. Brown at 828-465-7430.
