Escalante-Rojas and Sandoval-Aquirre
Photo contributed by LCSO

LINCOLNTON MURDER SUSPECTS HERE ILLEGALLY

By Jon Mayhew
Publisher

LINCOLNTON -- Two Hispanic males, accused in the murder of a 25-year-old male Sunday night, are in this country illegally according to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office.

The incident started around 9:26 p.m. Sunday, when deputies were called to a residence on Hatchett Road to a call of shots fired. As they arrived, they observed a truck leaving the scene at a high rate of speed.

Officers naturally began persuing the truck, believing it to be the suspect vehicle. When the truck finally crashed at Business 321 and Car Farm Road, deputies discovered the unidentified victim in the case.

He was rushed to Carolinas Medical Center - Lincoln, then airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, where he died around 4 a.m. Monday.

According to LCSO public information officer Larry Seagle, the victim may never be identified.

"We're having trouble contacting the man's next of kin," said Seagle.

What posed another problem for deputies and investigators alike was the language barrier. The victim and suspects are all Hispanic.

Interviews of the four suspects -- three adults and a juvenile -- ran late into Monday, according to Seagle.

He couldn't say whether or not the translator used was Lincolnton resident Christina Arlow, owner of Trnaslations Plus.

"It's a painstaking process," said Seagle. "The investigation is going slowly."

During the investigation, the suspects revealed they were in the United States illegally.

The two suspects were arrested on murder charges; the juvenile was turned over to juvenile authorities. A third person was questioned, according to Seagle, and released.