On June 17, 2023, at about 6:00 p.m., Union County deputies responded to a reported shooting in the 900 block of Clark Street in Wingate, North Carolina. They found 43-year-old Shaun Marquiso Sturdivant with gunshot wounds; he was taken to a local hospital and later pronounced dead. Reports say the shooting followed a verbal altercation between Sturdivant and his neighbor, 58-year-old Ricky Ponds, and that Ponds allegedly shot Sturdivant twice. Deputies had been called to the area multiple times previously for disputes between the two men.

Ponds was taken into custody at the scene and later charged with first-degree murder and booked into the Union County Jail. Sturdivant, born September 18, 1980, was remembered by family and friends for his vibrant personality; funeral services were held in Wingate. The sheriff’s office asked anyone with information about the incident to come forward.

If anyone in Wingate knew Shaun or observed the neighborhood dispute, please share information with investigators.