Mistrial declared in Columbus County homicide case

COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A mistrial has been declared in the murder case against a Tabor City man charged in a January 2023 deadly shooting.

According to court records, Judge Jessica Locklear declared a mistrial Tuesday morning in the trial of Xavier Antonio Rayquan Thomas, who was charged with the murder of Julian Juan Fipps.

The Columbus County Sheriff’s Office responded Jan. 9, 2023 to the 2500 block of M.M. Ray Road in Clarendon after receiving reports of shots fired. When they arrived, they found an overturned black Jeep Wrangler.

Inside the vehicle, deputies located Fipps, who had been shot to death.

Following an investigation, Thomas was arrested Jan. 16, 2023 and charged with Fipps’ murder.

In August 2023, the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office released a statement after documents and images from the murder investigation were leaked and posted on social media.

“The public should rest assured that the District Attorney’s Office and the Columbus County Sheriff’s Department work tirelessly to bring justice to victims and their families,” the statement said. “The utmost care is given to ensure a favorable outcome for the State. The reckless disclosure of information of pending cases compromises this goal, and as such, we are committed to protecting this information to the extent we have the ability to do so.”

In addition to the murder charge, court records show mistrials were also declared on multiple counts of discharging a weapon into an occupied dwelling or moving vehicle.

It is not immediately clear whether prosecutors plan to retry the case following the mistrials.

Thomas is still in jail on unrelated drug charges.