Adam Anthony White, of Hoffman North Carolina, was sentenced to life in prison without parole after being convicted by a Moore County jury of first-degree murder for the shooting death of Wesley Allen Swinnie, also of Hoffman, in the parking lot of Burger King in Aberdeen on Saturday morning August 17, 2013, according to a news release from Moore County District Attorney’s Office.
Swinnie, 23 years of age at the time, rode with his father, William McCrimmon, in McCrimmon’s car to run errands that morning. They stopped at Burger King, and Swinnie went inside to get a biscuit.
When Swinnie returned to McCrimmon’s car, he placed his food in the passenger seat and was shot by White seven to eight times. Swinnie handed his cellular telephone to McCrimmon to call 911.
As McCrimmon was speaking with the 911 operator White, 29 years of age, reloaded his handgun, walked over to Swinnie, who was lying on the ground and shot him two to three more times in the face.
Several witnesses in the area ran over to help Swinnie as he was lying on the ground, but he passed away next to McCrimmon’s car. Swinnie died from the multiple gunshot wounds.
Officers from the Aberdeen Police Department stopped White and his brother, Miquale Green, while they fled South in Green’s gray Buick through Aberdeen. White later admitted to officers that he shot Swinnie.
White testified during the trial that he was upset about an altercation that occurred two weeks before in Southern Pines, where White and his twin brother, Allan White, were cut by Wesley Swinnie. White drove his twin to First Health Moore Regional Hospital for a cut to his neck.
Neither White nor his twin cooperated with the Southern Pines Police Department during the investigation of the incident at Brookside Apartments.
White testified, during his trial, that when he saw Swinnie at Burger King, he thought about his twin being cut, then snapped, pulled out his handgun and shot Swinnie.
McCrimmon’s emotional call to 911 was played in Court for the jury. The jury heard a few of the shots being fired by White on the 911 recording, as well as White shouting at Swinnie, as Swinnie was lying in the parking lot. McCrimmon passed away in May of 2015, according to the news release.
Swinnie’s mother, Hilda Swinnie, and sister, Stacey Swinnie, testified during the sentencing, forgiving Adam White for his actions, and expressing that they wished he had made better decisions the day White killed Swinnie.
The Aberdeen Police Department investigated the case. Peter Strickland, assistant district attorney for Moore County, prosecuted the case for the State of North Carolina. George Kelly, of the Wake County Bar, defended Adam White. James M. Webb, Senior Resident Superior Court Judge of Moore County, presided over the trial.
