On November 27, 2023, at about 10:42 p.m., 40-year-old U.S. Army veteran Jossiel Rodriguez-Perez was fatally shot in the 3000 block of Smith Road in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Rodriguez-Perez, who served with the 82nd Airborne Division, had gone to recover a stolen red trailer that was equipped with GPS tracking and had located the trailer’s signal on Smith Road. According to investigators, suspected thieves opened fire upon arrival; Rodriguez-Perez was struck and later pronounced dead at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center.

The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office opened a homicide investigation. In early December 2023, authorities sought 28-year-old Zachary Michael Locklear of Autryville and an unidentified woman for questioning; their connection to the shooting was not publicly detailed. By December 8 the stolen trailer had been recovered but no arrests had been announced and the investigation remained active. Rodriguez-Perez’s wife, Claudia, described him as joyful, social, a devoted family man and the general manager of a Fayetteville-area McDonald’s.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Homicide Detective Sergeant J. McLeod at (910) 677-5548 or Crimestoppers at (910) 483-TIPS (8477). Was anyone in the area that night aware of activity on Smith Road or the stolen trailer’s signal?