The man believed to be responsible for a murder in Beaufort County has been caught in Georgia.

Jayquwan Lamar Newmones was taken into custody Thursday in Augusta, Georgia, by members of the Greenville Police Department’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Team, the North Carolina SBI Fugitive and Missing Person Task Force, the FBI, Augusta Police Department and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.

Law enforcement officials have been searching for Newmones since a passing motorist spotted the body of Timothy Bernard Moore, 27, on Christmas Eve, on a dirt road just off of Beech Ridge Road in Belhaven. Moore had been shot multiple times, according to Lt. Jim Vanlandingham, head of criminal investigations for the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

“Countless hours were put into this investigation by my deputies, along with assistance from deputies, officers and agents from local, state and federal law enforcement agencies from both North Carolina and Georgia,” Beaufort County Sheriff Ernie Coleman stated in a press release. “Over 35 court orders were drafted and executed to aid in developing evidence in this case. Newmones was taken into custody without incident because of tireless effort and determination by a lot of good law enforcement officers. I know that arrests made in this case will not make the situation better, but I do hope that it brings the Moore family comfort and consolation in this time of sadness.”

Newmones has been charged with an open count of murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon and felony larceny of a motor vehicle. When he was taken into custody in Georgia, law enforcement officials said the 23-year-old man had altered his appearance drastically in an effort to avoid arrest, dressing as a female for more than a week and posing as a ninth-grade high school student, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office. Newmones had also sought shelter with a family who took him in after he came to their residence asking for help, the release stated.

The circumstances surrounding Moore’s murder have not been released, but the two men had been seen together.

“These two guys knew each other,” Vanlandingham said. “They were seen together the night prior to the discovery of the body, riding together in a car.”

The car belonged to Moore and was found five or six days later, abandoned on the Washington waterfront, Vanlandingham said.

Earlier this week, Newmones’ brother, Khalif Muhammed Newmones, 25, of 252 Duke St., Belhaven, and Alicia Hassona Polen, 27, of Augusta, Georgia, were arrested in Augusta and charged with accessory after the fact to murder, as it is believed the two knew about the murder and helped hide the suspect from law enforcement, Vanlandingham said in a previous interview. Polen is believed to be a cousin of Newmones.

All three are being held without bond in the Charles B. Webster Detention Center in Georgia and are awaiting extradition back to Beaufort County.

Vanlandingham said he did not know when extradition would occur.

“We don’t know at this point if they’re even going to waive or fight extradition,” Vanlandingham said.

The release stated that the investigation continues and further charges are possible.