Branson Raye Lambert was sentenced to death by the State of North Carolina for the murder of Dillion Zayne Wirt, 23
According to court documents officers would go to a scene in Asheboro North Carolina for the reports of a shooting. When officers arrived they noticed a violent scene however there was no victim on the scene
Police would eventually find the body of Dillion Zayne Wirt at the former Glendon Pyrophyllite Rock Quarry in Moore County. The victim had been fatally shot
Police would arrest Branson Raye Lambert who would later be convicted and sentenced to death
Branson Raye Lambert Case
An Asheboro man was handed down a first-degree murder conviction and death sentence by a jury on Thursday in connection with the death of a man in 2021, according to court documents.
Branson Raye Lambert, of Asheboro, is in the custody of the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office.
He will be taken to the Raleigh state penitentiary, where he will be put to death by law, a court document states.
“May God have mercy on his soul,” the document reads.
At about 2:13 a.m. on Feb. 7, 2021, police responded to a shooting on the 400 block of East Salisbury Street.
At the scene, officers determined that the crime scene was actually on the 600 block of Farr Street.
Evidence at the time suggested that a violent crime had happened at the location, and witnesses were able to corroborate.
Police say witness accounts and evidence led officers to investigate the case as a homicide, but no body was found at the scene.
The victim was identified as Dillion Zayne Wirt, 23, of Asheboro.
Police, with the help of the Moore County Sheriff’s Office and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, searched for the body at the former Glendon Pyrophyllite Rock Quarry in Moore County.
The body was recovered on Feb. 8, 2021, around 5 p.m., police say. An autopsy confirmed Wirt was shot.
Lambert was arrested at a gas station in Virginia by Virginia State Police around 7 p.m. on Feb. 7, 2021, and charged in Wirt’s death.
On Thursday, he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death, according to court documents.
NC man sentenced to death after being convicted of first-degree murder
Branson Raye Lambert News
Two people have been arrested after a homicide, but Asheboro police are still trying to find the body.
At about 2:13 a.m. Sunday, police responded to a shooting on the 400 block of East Salisbury Street.
At the scene, officers determined that the crime scene was actually on the 600 block of Farr Street.
Evidence suggests that a violent crime happened at the location, and witnesses were able to corroborate, according to authorities.
Police say witness accounts and evidence have led officers to investigate the case as a homicide, but no body was found at the scene.
The victim has been identified as Dillion Zayne Wirt, 23, of Asheboro.
Police, with the help of the Moore County Sheriff’s Office and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, are now searching for the body at the former Glendon Pyrophyllite Rock Quarry in Moore County.
Branson Raye Lambert, 21, of Asheboro, has been charged in Wirt’s death. Jessica Lynn Loflin, also known as Jessica Lynn Law, 36, of Asheboro, was charged with accessory after the fact.
Lambert and Loflin were arrested at a gas station in Virginia by Virginia State Police around 7 p.m. on Sunday. They are now being held in the New River Valley Jail awaiting extradition.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Lorie Johnson at (336) 626-1300 ext. 312 or ext. 316. Also, Randolph County Crime Stoppers can be reached at (336) 672-7463 with information.
