Two men charged in deadly Fayetteville carjacking

Two men were arrested this month in the killing and carjacking of a man in Fayetteville, court records show.

Ian Makhi Stephens, 20, of Pinebluff, and Tyliqe Williams McNeill, 21, of Fayetteville, are each being held in the Cumberland County jail on charges of first-degree murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon, possession of a stolen motor vehicle and conspiracy in the Oct. 3 killing of Ricky Pernell McMillian Jr., 39. Stephens is additionally charged with larceny of a motor vehicle.

According to affidavits in support of the arrest warrants, witnesses said McMillian had just parked his Dodge Challenger Hellcat in the 200 block of B Street about 12:30 a.m. when he was approached by two men. One of the men, the affidavit said, had a firearm and demanded the keys to the Challenger. After handing over the keys, McMillian was shot in the torso and the shooter took his vehicle and sped away. The other assailant ran to a nearby Dodge Charger and followed the Challenger from the scene the record said. McMillian was pronounced dead at the hospital.

A witness to the shooting showed officers Stephens' Instagram page and alleged Stephens was the one to drive away in McMillian's vehicle, the affidavit said.

Using city-owned surveillance cameras, officers identified the Charger as belonging to a McNeill family member, according to the records. Police received a report that someone found McMillian's wallet in front of the relative's apartment on Willowbrook Drive.

The affidavits allege that surveillance footage also showed McNeill and another man, alleged to be Stephens, exit the stolen Challenger in the parking lot of the apartment complex and enter an apartment. Sometime later, several individuals exited the apartment and Stephens allegedly got into the Challenger, while McNeill and his relative allegedly got into her Dodge Charger, the record states. The vehicles then left the parking lot toward Hoke County, the affidavit said.

The following day, the Challenger was located in a remote area by Hoke County deputies. The vehicle was riddled with bullet holes and had cloth stuffed in the gas tank, possibly in an effort to burn the vehicle, an investigator surmised in the affidavit. The record states that shell casings found near the vehicle matched those recovered from the scene of McMillian's murder.

McNeill was arrested Oct. 5 on nearly a dozen unrelated charges of breaking and entering, and multiple counts of theft of a firearm and possession of a stolen firearm. He was served with the warrants in the killing on Oct. 10.

Stephens was arrested Oct. 10 on warrants out of Moore County charging breaking and entering with intent to terrorize or injure, possession of a firearm by a felon and assault with a deadly weapon. He was served with the murder warrant Oct. 19.

The two men are being held without bail.