Veritable "Mayberry" Faces Tragedy

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Sgt. Greg Martin stands proudly in his Jonesville Police Department uniform.

Ever since Greg Martin was a boy, his family says he wanted to be a policeman. Martin's dream was fitting since his birthplace was also that of legendary television sheriff, Andy Griffith.

"Some call this town Mayberry," says Jonesville Police Sergeant Roger Reece. "It's just safe here."

Jonesville has six traffic lights, and many residents leave their doors unlocked.  But the sleepy town had a tragic awakening.

Upon investigating a suspicious man behind a strip mall, Sgt. Martin was shot seven times in the head.

A Mysterious Murder

On Oct. 4, 1996, Sgt. Greg Martin was working the 12-hour 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift and patrolled Jonesville solo, since his partner had the day off. In the early morning hours, he left a local restaurant to pick up a stack of newspapers at a grocery store. Police believe he was on his way to the Elkin Police Department to deliver the papers when he spotted a suspicious man standing behind a strip mall on Highway 67.

Sgt. Martin called into dispatch and stated, "I'm going to be out with a subject behind the shopping center here beside the Huddle House." Jonesville Sgt. Reece believes Martin followed the suspicious person to his vehicle, and followed the vehicle onto the interstate.

Upon hearing the dispatch, a state police officer to help Martin, who responded, "I'm going to need some assistance."

Those were the last words Sgt. Martin spoke.

When the state trooper reached Sgt. Martin's location, what he saw was shocking. Sgt. Greg Martin lay dead on the side of the interstate with multiple gunshot wounds to his head.

Police dissected Martin's last conversations and ran the tag of the "suspicious" red Dodge pick-up truck Martin had been following.

The truck, with West Virginia license plate 4SD-629, was recovered in the neighboring town of Elkin. Police determined that three days prior, on October 1, the tag was stolen off of a Chevy Blazer from a transmission shop in Princeton, W.V. The Dodge truck was stolen from Princeton's Ramsey Motor dealership.

AMW Teams Up to Help Solve A Cold Case

Witnesses at the dealership say two men requested to see the pick-up truck. After a salesmen met with them, one of the two men got into the truck, started it up and checked it out. Police surmise the truck was stolen that night.

"We would like to talk to these two individuals," says North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Agent Terry. "We believe they may know something and be able to help us. They are persons of interest."

With the help of a witness, a forensic sketch artist drew images of what the men may have looked like. Since the drawings were done in 1996, and most likely dated, AMW is teaming up with investigators and witnesses to create new composites.

Police did not receive many leads regarding the two men. Agent Terry says, "We're not sure who was driving the truck the night Sgt. Greg Martin was shot to death, but we do know the pick-up truck was definitely used." Police continued to follow the trail of the truck; from Princeton, W.V. to Elkin, N.C. Reportedly, the pick-up truck was found abandoned in Elkin behind the Lucia company plant.

Police had a new lead. A Lucia company van had been stolen from the parking lot. It was a white, 1980 Chevy sports van with a company logo; a red stripe and the name "Lucia" on the lower sides. Agent Terry learned the vehicle was spotted 90 miles south of the crime scene, just two hours after Sgt. Martin was murdered. It was discovered the next day, abandoned in a Gastonia parking lot. Then, the trail went cold.

Sgt. Greg Martin left behind a wife and three children. Despite the odds, police have not given up in their search for justice.