Man sentenced to prison in deadly Wilmington shooting

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A man has been sentenced to prison for shooting two men, killing one of them in January 2020.

On Tuesday, Erick Jamante Gibbs, 29, entered a plea of guilty in New Hanover County Superior Court for second degree murder. Gibbs was sentenced by Judge Phyllis Gorham to at least 13 years in prison.

On January 5, 2020, Wilmington Police Department officers were dispatched to 1010 South 4th Street in reference to reports of a shooting.

When officers arrived, they found two victims who had been shot. They interviewed the homeowner as well as another witness who informed them that a man knocked on the door, entered the home and began firing shots. The 56-year-old victim, George Porter III, was killed. A second man was also shot but survived.

The Wilmington Police Department was able to connect Gibbs to the murder when they received recordings of Gibbs admitting to the crime. Through these audio recordings detectives learned that this was a botched robbery of the victims.