A man from North Carolina has pleaded guilty to murder in the case of mistaken identity, reports PEOPLE. Harold Reid, Jr. pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on Monday for the death of 26-year-old Quintia Miller, which took place on Oct. 3, 2022. He went on to plead
“no contest to four unrelated sexual crimes including first-degree sex offense and two counts of indecent liberties with a child,”
reports the outlet.
Reports say those sexual charges cause him to murder Miller, according to officials. On Oct. 3, 2022, Reid was set to be tried for a first-degree sexual offense and indecent liberties with a child. However, officials allege that he went to Miller’s family’s home, where she was staying, as he searched for a woman who claimed he molested her as a child. He reportedly searched for her in an effort to stop her from testifying and speaking out against him, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
The victim was waiting for the school bus alongside her 6-year-old son, and while she was on her way back to her relative’s apartment she ran into Reid, the family recalled on GoFundMe. Reid mistook the 26-year-old victim for Shavonne Barnes, the woman he was actually looking for. Reid then shot and killed the Miller.
Cops with the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force and the sheriff’s office were in the complex during the shooting and heard the gunshots, reports Fox 8. The man was immediately arrested following the encounter.
Miller’s relatives are distraught being her death.
Barnes told Fox 8,
“I saw Quintia lying face down. Reid was laying on top of her. The attack should have never been her. The bullet was meant for me.”
#Clique, let’s keep Quintia Miller’s family in our thoughts and prayers.
