A Winston-Salem man has been charged with voluntary manslaughter in the shooting of an employee at a Kernersville battery-manufacturing plant Tuesday night.
Diarus Mark Raynor, 29, was arrested and also charged with felony discharging a firearm within enclosure to incite fear and misdemeanor carrying concealed weapons.
Raynor is accused of fatally shooting Erik Bailey, 34, of Winston-Salem.
Sheriff’s deputies received a call about 11:15 p.m. about shots being fired at the Clarios plant in the 2700 block of Powering Progress Drive in Kernersville, said Forsyth County Sheriff Bobbly Kimbrough Jr. and Christina Howell, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office. The plant, off West Mountain Street, was formerly Johnson Controls.
When deputies got to the plant, they found Bailey suffering from a gunshot wound, Kimbrough said. Bailey died at the scene.
People are also reading…
Investigators determined that Bailey and an employee got into an argument that ended with Bailey being shot and killed, Kimbrough said Wednesday.
Arrest warrants allege that Raynor used a ghost gun — a gun that doesn’t have a serial number and is typically made from a kit bought online — to kill Bailey. Ghost guns are legal in nearly every state, including North Carolina, and anyone, with or without a criminal record, can buy them. Law enforcement agencies have expressed concerns about ghost guns and recently, the Justice Department made a ruling that would regulate them.
Shaunne Hall, Erik Bailey’s mother, told the Journal on Wednesday that she heard from a first responder that Bailey was involved in an argument with a male employee. Hall was told that the employee spit in Bailey’s face during the incident. A fight then ensued between Bailey and the employee. At some point, Hall was told, the employee went to his vehicle, got a handgun and then shot Bailey in the chest.
Kimbrough said Tuesday that he could neither confirm nor deny Hall’s account of what happened because of the ongoing criminal investigation. The sheriff’s office has not said what led to the argument.
Hall said Bailey had been working at the plant since early March. Her son had previously worked at the Winston Weaver Co. fertilizer plant in Winston-Salem. A Jan. 31 fire destroyed the fertilizer plant.
It was not immediately clear how long Raynor had worked at Clarios. At the time of the shooting, nearly 200 employees were working at the plant.
Kathryn Campbell, a spokeswoman for the Clarios, declined to comment about the arrest Friday.
Hall could not be reached for comment Friday. She said Wednesday that Bailey was a good father to his 10-year-old son, Tyler.
The sheriff’s office said that it conducted a thorough investigation and consulted with the Forsyth County District Attorney’s Office before charging Raynor on Friday. Raynor appeared before a magistrate and was given a secured bond of $500,000. He is in the Forsyth County Jail.
