UNION — A Union man who was stabbed to death Saturday night died because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and attempting to break up a fight according to Union County Sheriff David Taylor.
In a press conference Thursday morning, Taylor announced that a total of six people have been charged in connection with the murder of Ryan O. Allen. Of those, Taylor said five were in custody, either in Union County or in another state awaiting extradition, while the sixth was still at-large and believed to be on the run. He said those in custody had been arrested over the course of the past week and included:
• Landon Blaine Turner, 25, 102 Spring St., Union
• Kenneth Wayne Wynn, 20, 127 Grant Road, Union
• Michael Anthony Wynn, 21, 911 Beltline Road, Union
• Tillia Dawn Wynn, 41, 127 Grant Road, Union
• James Hampton III, 28, 1207 W. Main St., Union
The sixth suspect, Marcos Antonio Ramirez, 22, 5018 Cross Keys Highway, Union, was not in custody at the time of the press conference. A little over three hours later, however, Taylor announced that Ramirez had surrendered to officers of the Rock Hill Police Department shortly after 3 p.m. Ramirez turned himself in after seeing himself as a wanted person on a Facebook social network site. Later in the afternoon, Taylor said Ramirez had been returned to Union County and was in jail.
Taylor said that Turner, along with Kenneth Wynn and Michael Wynn, and Ramirez are charged with murder while Tillia Wynn and Hampton are charged with accessory to murder. The warrants for Turner, Kenneth Wynn, Michael Wynn, and Ramirez state that they stabbed Allen causing his death. The warrant for Tillia Wynn’s arrest states that she transported her son, Kenneth Wynn, out of South Carolina to Virginia and concealed his identity after she learned he’d committed a felony.
The warrant for Hampton’s arrests states that he went to the scene of the incident “with prior knowledge of a crime that was to be committed” and “did provoke the situation in which a murder was committed.” It further states that he left the scene without attempting to aid the victims and with the intent of withholding his knowledge of the incident from investigators.
The six are charged in connection with an incident that occurred Saturday night in the 200 block of Arthur Street in the Monarch community. Deputies were dispatched and while en route were informed that knives were involved and that two of the victims — Lorenzo Mandrell Glenn and Brian Young — had shown up at Wallace Thomson Hospital while the third — Allen — was being treated at the scene by Union County EMS personnel. Allen would later be transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead at 10:48 p.m.
Taylor said Thursday that neither Allen nor Glenn and Young were the intended targets of the suspects. He said the suspects, who he described as having “worked in coordination with each other,” went to the party that was taking place at the incident location “to carry out a mission.” When asked what that mission was, Taylor said it was “to fight” and the result was an altercation which escalated to involve the knives that were used to stab Allen, Glenn, and Young as well other items, such a shovel and a skateboard, which also appeared to have been used as weapons.
While he was not the suspects’ intended target, Taylor said Allen was killed because “he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was trying to break it up.”
Taylor declined to identify the intended target but did say that investigators had been in contact with the individual. As for the motive for the attack, Taylor again declined to give details but said it was not drug-related.
Turner was the first of the suspects to be taken into custody. Deputies who responded to the incident identified him as an assailant after interviewing Glenn and Young and witnesses. Turner had fled the scene, however, and remained at-large until being taken into custody Monday afternoon by Taylor, Capt. Robbie Hines, and Lt. Terry Humphries in Mecklenburg County, N.C., with the assistance of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. He was taken into custody at a Mecklenburg hospital where he was receiving treatment for the injuries he suffered during the incident in Monarch. Taylor said Thursday that Turner, who is still being held by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police, has waived extradition and will be brought back to Union County as soon as possible.
Also take into custody in another state was Kenneth and Tillia Wynn who Taylor said are being held in the Halifax County Adult Detention Center in Halifax County, Virginia. Taylor that Kenneth Wynn was also injured during the altercation and with his mother’s help sought medical attention, first at Cleveland Memorial Hospital in Shelby, N.C. He was transferred to Carolina Medical Center in Charlotte where he remained until being released Wednesday. Taylor said he and his mother then made their way to Virginia where they were taken into custody Wednesday night by the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office and the Virginia State Police. He said they will remain in custody until their either waive extradition or are extradited.
Taylor said Turner and Kenneth Wynn both used false names to seek medical treatment. He said this made it more difficult to find them. In Kenneth Wynn’s case, Taylor said he was identified from a security video at Cleveland Memorial Hospital. In addition, Taylor said a description of the Wynns car and their cell phone communications also helped investigators find them.
As for Turner, Taylor said detectives received information that he might be in Charlotte. He said they begin inquiries in the area that eventually revealed Turner was there under an assumed name.
Michael Wynn and Hampton were both taken into custody in Union County on Wednesday. Taylor said Michael Wynn was arrested at his grandmother’s home while Hampton was arrested on the street.
Taylor said the investigation is continuing and that more arrests are possible. He asked that anyone with information on the incident or who had been a witness to call either his office at 864-429-1612 or CrimeStoppers at 864-427-0800.
Editor Charles Warner can be reached at 864-427-1234, ext. 14, or by email at cwarner@civitasmedia.com.
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