Lieutenant Tonya Doreen Gillikin, Enfield Police Department, North Carolina

Lieutenant Tonya Doreen Gillikin

Enfield Police Department, North Carolina

End of Watch Monday, March 15, 1999

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Tonya Doreen Gillikin

Lieutenant Tonya Gillikin was shot and killed after she and another officer stopped a vehicle that was suspected of being used in a robbery of a convenience store in Scotland Neck earlier in the night.

As the two officers attempted to handcuff the driver, he began to struggle and shot Lieutenant Gillikin in the head. The suspect then ran back to his car and sped away as the other officer was shooting at him. The suspect was identified by his driver's license, which was left at the scene, and he was later arrested with an accomplice.

The gunman, 23, was convicted of first-degree murder on August 11, 2001, and sentenced to life without parole. His accomplice, 18, was sentenced to 6 to 8 years in prison. He was released on January 28, 2006.

Lieutenant Gillikin had served with the Enfield Police Department for three years and was posthumously promoted to Lieutenant. She was the first female law enforcement officer to be murdered in North Carolina.

Bio

Age 30
Tour 3 years
Badge 502

Incident Details

Cause Gunfire
Weapon Handgun
Offender Sentenced to life

suspicious vehicle, vehicle stop

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I was in Rookie school with you many years ago. I saw you before you left Carteret County to start your new job. The last words you said to me was "You're going to read about me in the papers". One morning I got in the car to go to work and the first words I heard were about your death on the radio. I sat in the car and cried.
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Greg
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April 7, 2024