I knew on indirectly. A coworker in Gastonia had introduced me to some guys at a few parties. Later on one of them was charged in the murder of the bail bondsman in Gastonia back in the '90's. It received a lot of attention because in the briefcase the bondsman had a check from MJ.
A death row inmate in Gaston County lost his final court appeal to avoid his execution. A judge rejected George Buckner’s plea Friday to overturn his sentence for a 1992 shooting.
www.yahoo.com
On the other side of that, I knew a guy that was murdered. I've told this story before on IC.
I remember it because it could have easily been me.
When delivering pizzas, you have to take the first available delivery when you return to the store. This one evening I returned to the store about 15 minutes before closing and there was one pizza to be delivered. I was supposed to take it, but I had car issues. The other driver came in a couple minutes later and I asked him if he would take it, since my car was having issues. He took the pizza, and I went home. The next day I learned that he had been shot on the delivery. According to the police it was a gang initiation. He never had a chance, it was planned. The person opened the door and shot him. They didn't take his money, so it wasn't a robbery, they planned to kill him. After they killed him, they pulled his body through the house and into the back yard, they then drove his truck around until they were caught.
A quick google returned this:
In 1991, Keith Hilderbrand, a pizza delivery driver, was murdered and robbed in Gastonia, North Carolina.
Jimmy Floyd was convicted of the crime and sentenced to life in prison. The victim's daughter expressed disappointment that Floyd was considered for parole.