CLOVER — Authorities said a Clover couple who fled the area after an acquaintance was shot and killed, have been apprehended more than 100 miles away.Â
The York County Sheriff's Office said it is investigating its first homicide of 2024 following the May 3 shooting on Enon Church Road in unincorporated Clover. The York County Coroner identified the victim as Stephen Stowe, 51, of Clover.Â
Deputies and detectives were called to the area that evening and were given information about the suspects, Mitchell Strickland, 38, and Shelby Jeanette Strickland, 32, who live in the 800 block of Enon Church Road, according to detention center records.
Mitchell Strickland (left) and Shelby Strickland
Investigators gathered information about the car the married couple were driving and what direction they were headed, authorities said. That turned into an alert set out to agencies in North Carolina, who were on the lookout along northbound Interstate 85 in Randolph County, N.C., that evening. That's about 100 miles northeast of the Clover area.Â
A report from the Randolph Sheriff's Office states its deputies, the North Carolina Highway Patrol and the Thomasville, N.C., Police Department tracked down the Stricklands and made a traffic stop. The pair was taken into custody without incident. According to the report, deputies found guns inside the car.
As of May 8, the Stricklands remained at the Randolph County Detention Center, awaiting extradition to York County. Mitchell Strickland's warrants are for murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, while Shelby Strickland's warrant is for accessory to murder after the fact.
The York County Sheriff's Office said Stowe's death is the first homicide investigation in 2024. It was coupled last weekend by the city of York's first homicide in two years.Â
Investigators said an argument involving Stowe and the Stricklands led to the shooting, but no details about the quarrel were released.
