Arrest Made In Iredell County Homicide Case Following Manhunt

IREDELL COUNTY, NC — Following a daylong manhunt, Iredell County authorities located and arrested a suspect they say is responsible for the death of a 44-year-old Union Grove man early Monday morning.

Pierson Worth Colbert, 23, was taken into custody during a traffic stop in Yadkin County Monday afternoon and charged with homicide and felony larceny of a motor vehicle. The arrest brought to an end a day of searching for him following a predawn incident that left his next door neighbor dead.

According to the Iredell County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to an emergency call reporting an assault at a home located at 315 Indian Hill Road in Union Grove shortly after 5 a.m. Nov. 20.

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When they arrived, deputies found Robert John Quinn, 44 and a resident of the home next door at 301 Indian Hill Road, lying in the driveway with “obvious wounds to his head.” The victim was later pronounced dead at the scene.

“Deputies secured the scene, and started interviewing witnesses,” an ICSO report said. “Witnesses described being awakened to a knock at their door. The suspect, Pierson Worth Colbert told one of the witnesses he, and the victim, ‘Had gotten into it really big this time.’”

While deputies were on the scene, Colbert bolted, the sheriff’s office said.

A short time later, a 911 call was made reported an attempted break-in nearby on Tulbert Road. “Deputies responded to this location, while responding, a deputy met the suspect vehicle. This vehicle almost struck the deputy head on,” ICSO said.

Hours later, a dark green 1996 GMC Sonoma pickup truck was reported stolen from a home on Zion Liberty Road. When deputies responded to the home, they found a Nissan Sentra that Colbert had been driving earlier.

Colbert was later located in Yadkin County, where he was positively identified and taken into custody during a traffic stop, the sheriff said.