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Police believe a man wanted in connection with a southwest Charlotte homicide may have left the state and fled to Myrtle Beach.
Homicide detectives have signed murder warrants on 42-year-old Joseph Lloyd Rayfield.
He’s accused of killing Afred Michael Smith, who was found dead in his southwest Charlotte home last week. Police said they saw obvious signs of foul play at Smith’s home on Red Hickory Road, near Steele Creek Road and Brown Grier Road.
Officers haven’t said why they believe Rayfield is in the Myrtle Beach area, but detectives released a detailed description of the vehicle they think he’s driving: a 2001, champagne-colored Jeep Grand Cherokee with N.C. license plate RXR-1112. The SUV has a decal of a marlin on the back windshield and a front decorative tag displaying a beach scene.
Smith lived at the house in the 11000 block of Red Hickory Lane for more than a decade, neighbors told the Observer, and mostly kept to himself.
Police urge anyone with information on the killing or who knows of Rayfield’s whereabouts to call homicide detectives at 704-432-TIPS (8477) or to call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600. Tipsters are eligible for a reward for information that leads to an arrest.
