Shooter in deadly Fayetteville road-rage incident: ‘I did it’

When Roger Dale Nobles Sr. was being arrested for killing motorcyclist Stephen Perry Addison of Fayetteville in an infamous road-rage incident, he immediately made an incriminating statement, a Cumberland County deputy testified Thursday at Nobles’ murder trial.

“I did it. I’m not going to let my son take the blame,” is what Deputy Kaitlyn Norris testified that Nobles told her. Nobles said this, Norris testified, as he was obeying her commands to get out of the pickup truck he had been driving when he shot Addison earlier that day.

The shooting was on Skibo Road at the intersection with Cliffdale Road in Fayetteville on Jan. 3, 2022. Nobles shot Addison from the driver seat of the pickup truck while Addison and Nobles’ son, Roger Dale Nobles Jr., were standing in the street and arguing.

Nobles’ lawyer has said Nobles contends it was an unintentional discharge of the pistol.

If Nobles, 53, is convicted of first-degree murder, his sentence will be life in prison without parole.

Another driver recorded the shooting on her cellphone, and her video circulated widely online. A city surveillance camera also captured the incident at a distance from across the intersection.

Day 1 of of the trial: Did Fayetteville road-rage killer discharge his gun by accident? Cumberland jury to decide

Thursday was the second day of testimony in the murder trial. The prosecutors’ case included more detail about the circumstances surrounding the confrontation between Addison and the Nobleses. They also presented evidence intended to counter the assertion that this was an accidental shooting.

Meanwhile, defense lawyer Coy Brewer attempted to cast doubt on previous testimony from witnesses who said they saw Nobles in the driver seat of the pickup truck raise his right arm toward Addison and shoot him. In going over photos of the truck, Brewer had a witness describe the darkness of the tint on the windows, plus the presence of a toolbox and rack that would obscure the view of the interior.

Montage shows what happened before, during and after homicide

The Fayetteville Police Department collected security camera footage from businesses in the area, plus the city surveillance camera recording and eye-witness Carolyn Bailey’s cellphone video. The clips were stitched together in a montage to give the jury a video narrative.

Detective Joshua Nevitt, the lead investigator in this case, discussed it with the jury.

The video shows Roger Nobles Sr. and Roger Nobles Jr. shopping at Northern Tool + Equipment on Bragg Boulevard shortly before the encounter. Nobles Sr.’s gun is visible in a holster on his left side, and positioned for him to “cross draw” it with his right hand.

Meanwhile, security footage from the Fitness Connection gym shows Addison in the lobby as he was leaving.

The beginning of the conflict between the Nobleses and Addison appears in security camera video from Lee Hyundai on Skibo Road at the Red Tip Road intersection. The Nobleses’ pickup truck arrived first and stopped for the red light, Nevitt said. Addison then came up on his motorcycle and drove between the lanes to get to the front of the traffic, and stopped at the white “stop line” at the intersection, on the driver's side of the truck.

The truck inched forward to line up even with the motorcycle, Nevitt said. And Addison moved his head back and forth, he said. Another witness previously testified there was arguing between Addison and someone in the truck.

More from the trial: Pitts: ‘The longest light ever’ for witnesses in Fayetteville road rage case

When the light turned green, the truck and motorcycle pulled away. “It appeared they took off a little quicker than everyone else,” Nevitt testified.

The next intersection was at Cliffdale Road. The light was red.

The city surveillance video showed Addison stopping in the right-hand turn lane and Nobles stopping in the lane next to him. It showed Roger Dale Nobles Jr. getting out of the truck and approaching Addison, and it showed Addison putting the kickstand down on the motorcycle and dismounting with it between him and Nobles Jr.

Then Addison dropped to the ground, and Nobles Jr. got back into the truck. It drove down Skibo Road when the light turned green.

Moments later, they turned into the parking lot of the Academy Sports + Outdoors store down the street, according to security video from that store and the neighboring Home Depot.

Only pulled the trigger ‘a little bit’

The father and son were next seen by law enforcement at their residence in a trailer-park neighborhood off U.S. 301 South, just outside the city limit near the Fayetteville Regional Airport.

County deputies went there to assist the Fayetteville Police Department and detain the Nobleses.

According to Deputy Norris and Deputy Justin Turner:

• When the pickup truck pulled into the driveway, they ordered the Nobleses to get out with their hands up.

• Roger Nobles Jr. came out of the passenger side and was holding the gun up in the air. He complied with Turner's orders to turn around and kneel. Turner handcuffed him and a third deputy took the gun.

• Roger Nobles Sr. came out of the driver's side. Norris told him to kneel. He complied and she handcuffed him and kept him in her patrol car until Fayetteville police officers arrived to get him.

Nobles Sr. made several statements in addition to his first comment that he “did it,” Norris said.

She said Nobles said he did it “because he was weaving in and out of traffic” and almost caused an accident. Presumably the “he” in Nobles’ comment was Addison.

Further, Norris said, Nobles told her, “My finger wasn’t on the trigger,” but later said, “I only pulled it a little bit.”

A photo the Police Department made of Nobles’ hands later that day shows a mark on the tip of his right index finger, which would be his trigger finger if he fired the gun with his right hand.

Police Department firearms expert Jena Heroux testified she used a measuring device to test how hard it was to pull the trigger of the gun, which is a Glock 19 Gen 5 model. Three pulls recorded that the trigger required 4 pounds, 9 ounces of force, 5 pounds 4 ounces of force, and 4 pounds, 13 ounces of force, Heroux said.

She also testified the Glock has three safety mechanisms built into it to prevent it from firing unless the trigger is pulled. Heroux tested two of the safety mechanisms, and they worked, she said. She did not test the third safety mechanism, which prevents the gun from firing if it is dropped, because the test would require dropping the gun a distance of 4 feet, and Heroux was told not to do anything that could damage the gun.

The trial is scheduled to continue at 9:30 a.m. Friday in room 3C of the Cumberland County Courthouse.

Senior North Carolina reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Shooter in deadly Fayetteville road-rage incident: ‘I did it’