Teen Admits Killing Dunn Store Clerk

By Robert Jordan
Daily Record of Dunn

DUNN – A Dunn man arrested as a juvenile, but tried as an adult in the murder of a beloved store clerk in Dunn pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 16 to 20 years in prison on Thursday.

Rashard Amod Keon Purdie, now 18, gave his plea before Superior Court Judge Clayton D. Somers in Harnett County Superior Court. He was initially charged with first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon after he gunned down Nasi “Pops” Azzan inside the Family Market and stole guns and money from the store on Feb. 8, 2023.

The court sentenced Purdie to an active prison term of 192 to 243 months (16 years to 20 years and three months) in the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction Division of Prisons. The maximum available sentence was life without parole.

The court also ordered Purdie to pay $9,595.50 in fees as a result of his crime. The state took a voluntary dismissal on the robbery with a dangerous weapon charge.

Feb. 8, 2023

Officers were dispatched to the Family Market at 610 E. Broad St. for a report of “shots fired” at 10:54 p.m. on Feb. 8, 2023.

Nasi “Pops” Azzan was discovered by Dunn police, injured and on the floor behind a counter inside the store, according to a press release issued by Dunn Chief of Police Cary Jackson on Feb. 9, 2023. 

“Pops” died at the scene soon after officers discovered him. 

Investigators located video surveillance footage of the incident. That footage reportedly showed the suspect used a handgun to fire multiple shots at Azzan. It then showed the gunman stole two firearms from Azzan and U.S. currency from the cash register.

Nearly 12 hours after the homicide, investigators identified their suspect as Purdie, who was attending Triton High School when they went to arrest him. A review of online court documents establishes the following timeline.

Nearly two hours before the armed robbery and murder, Dunn officers reportedly responded to 400 McNeill Circle regarding a runaway juvenile. Responding officers spoke with Shirley McNeill of that address who reported her grandson, Rashard Purdie, had run away. McNeill identified Purdie as a 16-year-old male who lived with her. He was described as approximately 6 feet tall and weighing 230 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black hoodie, black sweatpants and a black shirt. McNeill told officers her grandson possibly had a firearm in his possession. This description matched the suspect later pictured in the video surveillance footage from the Family Market murder.

Search for missing teen takes a turn

The first search warrant details that an anonymous source and their son, who live in the same McNeill Circle neighborhood, were shown a photo of one of the suspects from the video footage. The individual in the photo was not the shooter. The sources told investigators the suspect pictured was “Ray Ray’s cousin.” During the investigation of the murder, investigators learned that Purdie’s nickname was Ray Ray.

The warrant goes on to state that investigators spoke with McNeill the next day and she confirmed Purdie’s nickname is Ray Ray. The grandmother reportedly said Purdie had come home during the early morning hours of Feb. 9, 2023 and went to school later that morning.

According to court documents, McNeill told investigators she could not be 100% sure that the shooter in the photo was Purdie, but it did look like his clothes, including the blue underwear he was wearing the day he went missing.

The grandmother also told investigators a neighbor had told her Wednesday night that Purdie and a boy named “AJ” had been shooting a gun in the area near her home.

The investigators reportedly located a fresh bullet hole in wooden trim on a nearby residence along with four spent shell casings imprinted with “Luger 9mm CB,” which was identical to the spent shell casings located at the Family Market. The detectives also located fresh shoe prints about 500 feet from the McNeill residence that appeared to have been made by a pair of Crocs.

According to court records, investigators went to Triton High School and took Purdie into temporary custody for questioning and to hold him while a search warrant for his home was obtained. Other officers proceeded to the home and performed what is called a “seize and freeze” to prevent anyone from entering the residence and removing any potential evidence.

While at Purdie’s home, Tiffany McNeill, a relative of Purdie, reportedly told officers that Purdie’s sister, Jada, had been contacted by Purdie, who instructed her to retrieve a gun from the residence.

When officers executed the search warrant at 400 McNeill Circle, they allegedly discovered a surveillance camera in Purdie’s bedroom. They also located and seized a Glock 19 handgun that was confirmed to belong to the Azzan family and was stolen during the robbery, reports stated.

Investigator Joshua T. Elliott applied for and obtained a search warrant for the images on an SD card installed in the surveillance camera seized during the search of Purdie’s home.

A juvenile petition

Due to Purdie being 16 years old at the time of his initial detainment, a secure custody order was obtained in a juvenile petition. Purder was placed in the Cumberland County Juvenile Detention Center in Fayetteville.

Twelve days following the homicide, Purdie was indicted by a Harnett County Grand Jury for first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon. The court ordered he be tried as an adult. He was released from juvenile custody by District Court Judge Joy A. Jones on March 3, 2023. The court ordered Purdie be held in the Harnett County Detention Center under a $1 million secured bond.

Assistant District Attorney Edgar Page was appointed as the prosecutor for the state on March 23, 2023. Purdie was appointed representation from defense attorney Joshua Clayton Mitchell.

There was another juvenile reportedly taken into custody on a juvenile petition in this case. Sources believe this was the unarmed suspect referred to as “AJ,” but due to the young man being a juvenile, his identity, charges and current status are not a matter of public record.