Fair Bluff officer honored for helping capture suspect in Trooper Conner’s murder

RALEIGH, NC (WWAY) — The North Carolina Highway Patrol honored a Fair Bluff police officer and two Good Samaritan’s during an awards ceremony in Raleigh on Tuesday morning.

Corporal Lee Alsbrooks received the Colonel’s Appreciation Award for helping capture one of the suspects charged in Trooper Kevin Conner’s murder.

On October 17, Conner was shot during a traffic stop on Hwy 701 in Columbus County.

A man who lived nearby, Hilton Cox, was on his front porch and heard the gunshots and saw a vehicle drive off from the traffic stop. When he didn’t see any movement near the vehicle, Cox drove to the patrol car and found Conner on the ground. Cox called 911 and waved down a passing driver.

Loren Halsey, a Navy Corpsman, stopped and began assessing Trooper Conner. He described to 911 the trooper’s injuries. Both men stayed with Conner until emergency responders arrived.

The highway patrol says the men, who also received the Colonel’s Appreciation Award, relayed important information to 911 and gave a description of the suspect’s truck.

Cpl. Alsbrooks was on patrol when he spotted a truck that matched the description of the suspect’s vehicle.

Alsbrooks pursued the truck until it crashed on train tracks in Fair Bluff and the suspect ran off. Alsbrooks forced the suspect into laying down until a perimeter could be established. Alsbrooks circled the area until backup arrived.

Raheem Davis was arrested and charged with the trooper’s murder. A second suspect, Chauncy Askew, was arrested in South Carolina several days later.