Winnsboro, SC – A multistate homicide investigation reached Fairfield County this week after deputies from North Carolina recovered the remains of a missing man in a wooded area off SC-34. The Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) confirmed Thursday that it assisted Davidson County, N.C., investigators in the search for 35-year-old Jonathan Charles Shores, whose remains were found on November 20.
According to the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office, Shores was allegedly shot on November 9 at a home on Eastwood Drive in Lexington, North Carolina. Detectives developed a timeline showing the suspects and victim traveling through Fairfield County during the early morning hours of November 10, prompting the request for assistance from FCSO.
Davidson County has charged Jose Guadalupe Lopez with felony first-degree murder, felony conceal/fail to report a death, two counts of felony robbery with a dangerous weapon, and felony assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury. Lopez is being held in Richmond County, Georgia, pending extradition to North Carolina.
A second suspect, Brennan Summer Alexander, is charged as an alleged accessory after the fact to multiple offenses and is currently held in Columbia County, Georgia.
FCSO investigators canvassed surveillance cameras, searched pulpwood roads and access points, coordinated with the county coroner, and later helped document and secure the property where the remains were recovered. Sheriff Will Montgomery emphasized that Fairfield County appeared to have been used only as a location to leave the body and that there is no ongoing threat to local residents.
Both agencies credited extensive forensic and digital work—and cooperation across multiple state and county jurisdictions—with advancing the investigation.
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