Columbus County man pleads guilty to killing 17-year-old son

COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A Columbus County man was sentenced to more than 23 years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the 2023 shooting death of his 17-year-old son.

According to the Office of the Fifteenth Prosecutorial District, Matthew Mercer, 44, pleaded guilty and was convicted of second-degree murder in Columbus County Superior Court in the death of Brady Lee Mercer.

Judge Quintin M. McGee sentenced Mercer to 23 to approximately 28.5 years in prison after hearing from several family members in court.

The shooting happened on Sept. 29, 2023, at a property on Elroy Mercer Road in Chadbourn.

Prosecutors said Mercer shot and killed his son during a dispute over a truck.

Mercer’s youngest daughter found her brother inside the vehicle after he had been shot. She then ran to a neighbor’s home to call 911.

Mercer was arrested at the scene. According to the District Attorney’s Office, he told detectives he retrieved a gun from the porch during an argument with his son over the vehicle.

The District Attorney’s Office thanked the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office for its work investigating the case.