Patrol Sergeant Gregory Keith Martin, a 30-year-old white male, was tragically killed on October 5, 1996, in Jonesville, North Carolina. Sergeant Martin was working a solo midnight shift when he spotted a suspicious man behind a strip mall on Highway 67. He followed the man to his vehicle and subsequently onto Interstate 77. At 2:42 am, he called in a traffic stop on a red Dodge Ram pickup truck.
Shortly after, a nearby North Carolina state trooper offered assistance, but upon arrival, found Sergeant Martin lying on the side of the road, having been shot multiple times in the head at close range. The suspect had fled the scene, stealing a van from a nearby location.
The case remained unsolved for nearly 16 years. On October 3, 2012, Scott Vincent Sica, a 36-year-old white male, was arrested in Cape Coral, Florida, and charged with first-degree murder. Two additional suspects were arrested in January 2013 and charged with first-degree murder, attempted armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, and possession of stolen goods. In March 2014, Sica was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole. On June 4, 2014, his two accomplices were convicted of second-degree murder, attempted armed robbery, and conspiracy. One was sentenced to 14 to 17 years in prison, while the other received a sentence of 10 to 12 years. Sica died in prison on April 19, 2016.
Sergeant Martin had served with the Jonesville Police Department for three years. He is survived by his wife and three children. In his memory, the North Carolina Department of Transportation dedicated a bridge near Jonesville on I-77 as the Gregory Martin Memorial Bridge.
