Columbus Co. father, son sentenced for killing repo man in 2015

COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A Columbus County father and son were sentenced in court Monday for the 2015 shooting death of a repo man.

William Roy Kohler, III was sentenced to at least 25 years in prison for second degree murder and discharging a weapon into an occupied motor vehicle.

William Roy Kohler, Jr. was sentenced to at least seven and half years in prison as an accessory after the fact to first degree murder and discharging a weapon into an occupied motor vehicle.

On June 9, 2015 the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Sunset Terrace community for the shooting death of Jeffery Lowe.

Lowe owned a towing service in Robeson County and operated a wrecker. On June 9, he had repossessed a Ford F-150 on behalf of Carolina Auto Sales.

William Roy Kohler, Jr. was three months behind on his payments. As a result, Lowe was contacted about repossessing the Ford F-150. As Lowe was towing the truck, Kohler, Jr. fired at least one shot that struck the wrecker.

William Roy Kohler, III then used the same shotgun to fire multiple shots at the wrecker that killed Lowe. Witnesses indicated that Kohler, Jr. told his son to retrieve a shotgun shell from the back porch area that he had fired before law enforcement arrived.

During the sentencing hearing, several members of the victim’s family recounted the joy that the victim had brought to their family and also detailed the anguish they felt with his loss.