On March 1, 2024, at about 1 a.m., Albemarle Police responded to a welfare check in the 500 block of Elizabeth Avenue and found 47-year-old Duane Lamont Perry deceased from apparent gunshot wounds. Perry was a visitor at the residence where the shooting occurred.

Investigators identified 49-year-old Otis Eugene Burns as the primary suspect. Warrants were issued charging Burns with first-degree murder, possession of a firearm by a felon, and discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling. Burns turned himself in to law enforcement on March 2, 2024, and was taken into custody at the Stanly County Jail. This was Albemarle’s first homicide since September 2023.

Perry had an earlier encounter with police on September 28, 2023, when he was arrested on a charge of assault on a female in Albemarle. The Albemarle Police Department asked anyone with information to contact them or submit anonymous tips to assist the investigation.

Does anyone have information about Perry’s movements or acquaintances in Albemarle around the time of the shooting?