Two arrested in connection to Belhaven murder

Published 7:08 pm Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Two people have been arrested in relation to the Dec. 23 murder of a Belhaven man.

Sunday, members of a SBI Task Force, the FBI and the Richmond County Georgia Sheriff’s Office arrested Khalif Muhammed Newmones, 25, of 252 Duke St., Belhaven, and Alicia Hassona Polen, 27, of 1903 Cooney Circle, Augusta, Georgia. Both are awaiting extradition to Beaufort County on charges of accessory after the fact to the murder of Timothy Bernard Moore, whose body was found on a dirt road off Beech Ridge Road in Belhaven on Christmas Eve. The suspect in the case, 23-year-old Jayquwan Lamar Newmones, is still at large.

“The FBI basically gained enough information to give us probable cause to arrest them for aiding and abetting,” said Lt. Jim Vanlandingham, head of criminal investigations for the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. “They knew about the murder and hid him.”

Jayquwan Newmones is charged with Moore’s shooting death, as well as robbery with a dangerous weapon and felony larceny of a motor vehicle, according to a press release.

The sheriff’s office enlisted the aid of Greenville Police Department’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Team and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation’s Fugitive and Missing Person Task Force, after it became clear that Jayquwan Newmones, originally from New Jersey, had fled the area.

“They tracked him to Georgia; checked some houses where they thought he might be and arrested his brother,” Vanlandingham said. “We had actually talked to the brother, two or three times.”

Vanlandingham said law enforcement has been actively searching for Jayquwan Newmones, since Christmas Eve, when a passing motorist spotted the deceased and reported the crime.

“More arrests are expected of people who have assisted him in evading law enforcement,” Vanlandingham said.

Jayquwan Newmones is described as being 5-feet, 5-inches tall and is believed to be in the Augusta, Georgia, area. Vanlandingham said authorities there are reaching out through media to locate the suspect, as well. Beaufort County Crime Stoppers has now increased its offer to a $2,000 reward for information leading to for Jayquwan Newmones’ capture.