Local authorities this weekend caught a man on the run following the shooting death of a delicatessen clerk in Queens, N.Y.
A Rowan County Sheriff’s deputy arrested 26-year-old James M. Burke of New York Saturday after finding him sitting in an idling car at the Express Pay Exxon on Long Ferry Road.
Late Friday, New York authorities had sent word to North Carolina agencies that Burke could be heading south on Interstate 95.
New York detectives were looking for Burke in connection with the Wednesday afternoon shooting death of Ramon Adams, 34.
Adams was shot during a robbery attempt at the Laurelton Deli on Merrick Boulevard in Queens, said N.Y. Police Detective Janet Barry.
About 5:20 a.m. Saturday, Rowan Deputy John Lawson pulled into the Express Pay Exxon and saw Burke sitting in his car, according to reports.
Lawson checked the license number, and computer records showed Burke was wanted for a probation violation for armed robbery in New York. Later, they learned he also was a murder suspect, said Rowan Lt. John Sifford.
“We honestly just think he was just passing through,”Sifford said.
Barry and two other New York detectives arrived in Salisbury late Saturday.
Burke waived extradition this morning and detectives scrambled to get him on a flight back to New York.
Contact Jonathan Weaver at 704-797-4266 or jweaver@salisburypost.com
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