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Fayetteville Man Acquitted of Murder

A Fayetteville man was acquitted Thursday of killing a Hope Mills man two years ago.

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FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — A Fayetteville man was acquitted Thursday of killing a Hope Mills man two years ago.

Jonte Devon McLaurin was found guilty of conspiracy to commit armed robbery with a firearm, but a jury found him not guilty of murder in the March 2006 shooting death of Johnathan Lee.

Lee, a junior at Fayetteville State University when he was killed, was a former football captain at South View High School. Five other people were wounded in the shooting.

A second man charged in the case, Ryan Omar Simmons, is awaiting trial.

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