Man Gets 16 Years For Shooting Death Of Grandmother
Detectives say he was aiming at another when grandmother was hit
By Emily Weaver
Daily Record of Dunn
An Erwin man was sentenced to spend 16-20 years in prison for the shooting death of a 72-year-old grandmother who was gunned down at a stop sign in the Bunnlevel area in 2021.
Artis Lewis Elliott, now 33, submitted a guilty Alford plea to a charge of second-degree murder for the death of Margie Pipkin, three days before jury selection was set to begin for his trial on Jan. 12. In an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt for the crime, but does admit the state has enough evidence for a jury to render a guilty verdict if the case were to go to trial.
He was initially charged with committing first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, an assault with a deadly weapon and shooting into an occupied vehicle. Those charges were dismissed in lieu of the second-degree murder plea on Jan. 9.
Elliott is accused of shooting Pipkin when he reportedly opened fire on another car on the morning of July 19, 2021. Pipkin was stopped in her car at the intersection of Bunnlevel-Erwin and Beaver Dam roads when the shots were fired.
Pipkin suffered a gunshot wound to her head and died of her injuries in a local hospital the following day.
Harnett County Sheriff’s Office investigators said Elliott was suspected to have been the only gunman, that day, in a shooting that involved two cars.
In a press conference held minutes before Elliott turned himself in on July 21, 2021, Harnett County Sheriff Wayne Coats said Pipkin was well loved in the community and died as a result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Judge C. Winston Gilchrist sentenced Elliott to spend between 192 months (16 years) and 243 months (20 years and three months) in prison. Elliott was given credit for the 1,634 days he spent in jail awaiting the closure of his case.
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12 Comments
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Another liberal Democrat judge. 16 years for killing his grandmother… The only thing lower than that is someone who kills their own child.
It wasnt his grandmother. Just like a republican to not not know how to read
What is this not not in the sentence, You must be a Democrat that doesn’t know how to write.
It wasn’t his grandmother.. Read the article
He did not kill his own grandmother. It was an older lady in the community by mistake. The bullet was meant for someone else.
You do realize that every judge has to be follow a strict guide called the penal code? It may be a funny word but it’s a serious code book for sentencing. He entered a plea deal, do you know what that is? This specific one was an Alford plea, so look that up. It’s a plea where the defendant maintains their innocence while the agreeing the persecution has enough evidence for a conviction which leads to less harsher punishment. That’s why you see people who get 15-20 years for violent crimes get low sentencing, it’s due to a plea deal.
As well, in North Carolina, we have something called structured sentencing which you can read in the general statutes at Chapter 15A (or GS 15A.1304 for a specific section)
But I know in the end, you’ll believe what you want to believe and not any of the true facts.
Agreed Johnathan!!
Should have been life in prison and put that judge in there too!
Good! Give him life or the death penalty
What a travesty of justice. Kill an innocent person while living out a thug life, and get 16 years?
We need new judges.
He was charged with second degree murder. Did it ever occur to you that the judge gave him the amount of prison time that the law allows, not what you personally want for him. Your personal feeling do not dictate what the law should be. That’s why they are the judges and you are not. Democrat or Republican, the law is the law.
Common Sense isn’t always correct:
With second-degree murder, the maximum sentence is still life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, but the standard sentence is between 16 and 40 years in prison.