Murder suspects talked with victim hours before shooting

Two Havelock men accused in the shooting death of Odell Foster Jr. on Saturday had spoken with Foster inside a local nightclub hours before, the police chief said.

Moises H. Rodriguez, 22, and Gary Lamont Hayes, 24, both of Havelock, were charged with first-degree murder. Foster, 29, of the Harlowe community, was shot in the Bayside Restaurant parking lot at 700 East Main St. around 3 a.m. Saturday.

"The information we have received thus far during the investigation indicates they have a past history," said G. Wayne Cyrus, Havelock police chief. "There was an encounter at one of the local clubs that evening prior to the shooting. According to the information we have received, it was not a violent encounter. The three had been observed in conversation; however, we do not know the content of the conversation."

Cyrus said he couldn't name the club because of the continuing police investigation.

When the three men crossed paths at the Bayside, a 24-hour restaurant on East Main Street, Foster was shot abruptly with few if any words traded, Cyrus said.

 "The information does not, at this point, indicate that there was any type of altercation before the shooting," he said. "We talked to several individuals thus far, and most of the individuals were able to provide us with a pretty clear picture of the events that occurred at the time of the shooting."

Police heard gunshots in the Bayside parking lot and saw two vehicles speeding from the restaurant at around 3 a.m. Saturday. Rodriguez and Hayes were in a car that police stopped on Pineview Road, according to a news release.

The other vehicle was followed to Carteret General Hospital in Morehead City. Foster's friends had driven him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Foster was shot once in the chest and twice in the lower body, Cyrus said.

Cyrus said investigators were uncertain which man may have pulled the trigger.

Police found a firearm and spent shell casings in the car with Rodriguez and Hayes. Cyrus said he couldn't describe the gun while the investigation is ongoing.

"We are having the necessary tests conducted to determine if this was the weapon that was used," Cyrus said.

Havelock police have asked the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation to help analyze evidence from the shooting.

Cyrus said investigators didn't know whether Foster's history with Rodriguez and Hayes was in any way related to his March 2000 conviction for manslaughter. Foster served nearly three years and six months before being paroled in July 2003, according to the N.C. Department of Correction.

Records show Foster was released from parole in April 2004.

Rodriguez and Hayes, who made their first appearance in Craven County District Court on Monday, have requested court-appointed attorneys and have not answered investigators' questions about the shooting, Cyrus said.

Two officers were on patrol near the scene of Saturday's shooting because police are trying to be more visible in the early morning hours after bars and clubs close, the chief said.

"Had they not been in the area, had they not heard the gunshots and had the vehicles not been observed leaving the scene, there is a high probability that we would still be seeking the alleged suspects," he said. "It was the right place at the right time, but there's also an aspect of good police work involved."