A dying man told Salisbury Police he argued with an acquaintance Wednesday before he was dragged with a car into a creek.
Clinton Leon Simpson, 37, of 1424 Bringle Ferry Road, died later Wednesday at a Winton-Salem hospital, and authorities plan to charge David Samuel Simmons in Simpson’s death.
Simmons, 31, of 109 W. Steele St., is in the Rowan County Detention Center on charges from an unrelated incident Wednesday.
Salisbury Police and the District Attorney’s office are awaiting the results of an autopsy before determining what charges to bring against Simmons.
Authorities are investigating the death as a homicide related to a robbery.
Police found Simpson face up in a creek near the intersection of Shaver and Liberty streets early Wednesday morning. He was near a partially submerged Pontiac Grand Am that police learned belongs to Simpson.
Simpson gave police his version of events at Rowan Regional Medical Center before he was transferred to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, where he died.
“Simpson said that Simmons had his money, and he was trying to get it back,”Salisbury Police Deputy Chief Mark Wilhelm said this morning.
Wilhelm said the robbery apparently happened somewhere near the spot on Shaver Street where Simmons stopped his car and the two argued around 5 a.m.
“We don’t know whether he handed him his money and he drove off ... or whether he took it from him,” Wilhelm said. Police believe drugs played a part in the incident, but don’t know if it was a drug sale, he said. No drugs were found in the car, he said.
Simpson told police he reached into the driver’s side window of the Grand Am to retrieve his money. The two men struggled as the car began moving and dragged Simpson.
According to a Police Department accident report, the car left the road and rolled down a series of landscaped steps before coming to rest in the creek. Simpson was thrown across the hood and ended up near the rear of the car on the passenger’s side.
Simmons was not at the scene when police arrived.
Simpson’s visible injuries include a deep cut on his forehead, a cut on his stomach and a spinal injury, Wilhelm said. A medical examiner said Simpson died from the injuries he got from being dragged by the car, but a second autopsy was scheduled in conjunction with the police investigation.
Wilhelm said police found a kitchen knife in the car but don’t know if it was used in the reported robbery.
Police arrested Simmons late Wednesday night after two men said he fought with them on Lee Street using a box cutter and a hammer. He is charged with simple assault and assault with a deadly weapon.
District Attorney Bill Kenerly planned to decide after receiving results of the second autopsy what charges Simmons will face in the earlier incident. Wilhelm said police anticipate Simmons will be charged with killing Simpson.
“I can foresee some homicide charges, or maybe homicide and robbery,”he said.
Contact Scott Jenkins at 704-797-4248 or sjenkins@salisburypost.com
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