HAMILTON, N.C. (WITN) - An Eastern Carolina district attorney says a man’s shooting death by a police sniper this past summer was justified.

It was back on June 4th that Greenville police officer Carter Irwin shot and killed 44-year-old Donald Matthews IV during the course of a standoff in Martin County.

Irwin was deployed with the police’s Emergency Response Team after being requested by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.

The situation began the previous night when deputies learned of an intoxicated armed man riding around Hamilton in a white pickup truck. According to radio calls obtained by WITN at the time, the pickup truck in question was registered to Donald Matthews IV.

Greenville police say at the time of the request for their assistance, the man had barricaded himself inside

See Full Page