Grand Jury fails to indict on manslaughter charge
Staff report
Previous coverage
* Dec. 8: Opinion: Let the victims have a voice
* Dec. 5: Whitfield charged
* Nov. 12: Investigation continues
* Nov. 11: Shooter released
* Nov. 11: Man dies from gunshot wound
ROCKINGHAM — A 41-year-old Rockingham man no longer faces a manslaughter charge in the Veterans Day shooting that left another man dead.
Members of a Richmond County grand jury failed to indict Eric Whitfield on the charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Mack Dewey Smith III due to insufficient evidence.
Eric Whitfield
Whitfield’s single .22-caliber gunshot rocked the Pecan Street neighborhood on Nov. 11, 2014, and struck Smith, 53. Whitfield and Smith both lived in the Pecan Street home. Police records indicate their argument began over a dog in the home that smelled bad.
Smith was transported to FirstHealth Richmond Memorial Hospital by ambulance but was pronounced death within the hour. Whitfield, meanwhile, was taken into police custody less than 15 minutes after the emergency call for help was received by emergency dispatchers.
Whitfield was not arrested on the day of the shooting and was, in fact, released from custody the night of Nov. 11. It took 24 more days for investigators with the Rockingham Police Department to put a case against Whtifield for involuntary manslaughter. The case seemed clear enough at the time — Smith had exited the home by the back porch with a knife. A police report indicates Whitfield followed with the gun.
