A Fayetteville man who allegedly helped his friend murder a romantic rival in 2022 pleaded guilty to a lesser charge Tuesday.
James Christopher Brown, 28, was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison after pleading to second-degree murder for the shooting death of Jeffrey Michael Cain, 26. According to court records, Brown was given credit for nearly a year and a half in jail.
As a condition of Brown's plea, he must testify against his co-defendant Tyler Culbreth, 24. A charge of first-degree murder is still pending against Culbreth, records show.
Night of the shooting
On Nov. 15, 2022, Cain was found in 3500 block of State Street dead in the driver's seat of a vehicle in the woodline. The autopsy investigation report states Cain had been shot in the neck and the back and had an AK-47 rifle in his lap and a handgun in his waistband. The BMW in which Cain was found had several bullet holes in the rear that breached the vehicle, striking Cain, the record said. Another vehicle, a Honda, was found unoccupied nearby and had shell casings on the ground around it.
While the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office was at the scene, Brown walked out of the woods with a gun and was detained, according to the warrant. Initially, he denied anyone else was involved but later investigators tied Culbreth to the crime.
Brown was arrested on a charge of first-degree murder a day after the killing, according to an arrest report.
The hours before the killing
In the hours leading up to Cain's death, he received multiple threats on social media and by text message.
One individual, who alleged that Culbreth put him in the middle of an ongoing dispute with Cain, told investigators that he'd argued on Facebook with Cain on the day he was killed. The record notes that the person was at home and livestreaming on Facebook at the time of the killing.
The ongoing dispute, the records states, was that Culbreth was allegedly upset that his ex-girlfriend was living with Cain. Cain and the woman had a child in common.
Search warrants in the case state that Cain also received text messages from an unknown number stating, “I need your body bruh," "you got one hour” and "I’m here to kill you,”
"Messages continue until about the time 911 was contacted in reference to shots being fired in the area of State Street," an affidavit said. "The final message reads, 'Now Leavitt be.'"
Additionally, the record alleges that before the slaying, Culbreth attempted to pay a relative to kill Cain.
Culbreth was arrested Feb. 7, 2023. He is being held without bail in the Cumberland County jail.
Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com.
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