Montreal Holmes, a 28-year-old African American man, was shot and killed during a house party at 515 S. Ninth St. in Wilmington on February 5, 2017. He and another man, described as a 34-year-old, were taken to New Hanover Regional Medical Center; Holmes was pronounced dead and the other victim suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

The investigation led to the arrest of 32-year-old William Shemont Springer of Wilmington. Springer was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, and possession of a firearm by a felon. He was arrested on Emory Street by the Wilmington Police Department and U.S. Marshals and held in the New Hanover County jail without bail; records note prior convictions for common law robbery and assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury.

Charges in the Holmes homicide were dismissed in 2019. The shooting happened during an early-morning altercation at an unlicensed, after-hours club at the same address. Does anyone have information about the incident or the people involved that could shed light on what happened that night?