SALISBURY, N.C. — A Salisbury arrest Tuesday ended a multi-county search for a man wanted in connection with a deadly shooting in Richmond County earlier this month.
Rowan County deputies and Salisbury police took 28-year-old Raequan Lameek Ratliff into custody at a home in the 700 block of Partee Street on August 5. The arrest followed what investigators described as a coordinated effort with Richmond County authorities to locate and safely apprehend the suspect.
Richmond County Sheriff’s deputies say the case began just before 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, August 3, when they responded to a report of a shooting on Easterling Avenue in Ellerbe. Deputies found 36-year-old Wendell Robinson Jr. in a yard, suffering from gunshot wounds. He died at the scene.
According to investigators, additional shots were fired shortly afterward into parked vehicles at the Ellerbe Manor Apartments and into an occupied home on Sallie Goins Hill Road, where a family was inside. No other injuries were reported.
Ratliff is now charged with felony murder, three counts of attempted first-degree murder, discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling, possession of a firearm by a felon, and two misdemeanor counts of injury to personal property. Authorities say he was transferred to Richmond County custody after the Salisbury arrest and is being held without bond.
Court records reviewed by local media show Ratliff has prior convictions for offenses including assault on a female, felony larceny, communicating threats, assault and battery, misdemeanor larceny, resisting a public officer, and an open container violation in Anson County. These cases are unrelated to the current charges.
Investigators say Ratliff fled to Rowan County following the Ellerbe homicide. By August 4, Richmond County officials had pinpointed his location, leading to Tuesday’s arrest. Authorities emphasized that if residents noticed unusual police presence in the Partee Street area that day, it was related to the operation.
The case remains under investigation, and officials encourage anyone with information to contact Richmond County Crime Stoppers via the P3 app or at 910-997-5454.